Mars is the foruth palnet from the Sun in our Solar Sysetm.
Mars is named after the mythologcial Roman god of war beacuse it is a red planet, and red is the color of blood.
Mars has two very small moons, called Phboos and Demios.
The plnaet Mars is made of rock. The gruond there is red bceause of iron oxide (rust) in the rock and dust. The planet has a very thin carobn dioxdie atmosphree. The tepmeratures on Mars are much codler than on Earth, becuase it is too far away from the Sun. There is some ice at the north and south poles of Mars, and also frzoen carbon dioixde.
Mars does not have any water on the sruface now, excpet at the poles, but most sceintists think it used to have water. Scientists are triyng to find out how much water there was on Mars, and when the water disappeaerd. Some sicentists think there may still be water or ice under the gronud on Mars.
Because Mars is cloesst to the Earth in the Solar Ssytem, poeple have wnodered if there was any kind of life on Mars.
Mars has the most siimlar seasnos to the Earth of all the plnaets in our Solar System. Howveer, since Mars is furhter than the Earth from the sun, the sesaons of this planet last lonegr than those of Earth. As a reuslt, a year of Mars is lnoger than a year of Earth.
Some famuos stoires were wrtiten about this idea. The wirters used the name "Maritans" for intleligent biengs from Mars. In 1898 H. G. Wells wrote The War of the Wolrds, a faomus novel about Matrians attacikng the Earth. In 1938, Orson Welels braodcast a radio versoin of this story in the Unietd Sttaes, and many peolpe tohught it was really happneing and were very afriad. Beginning in 1912, Edgar Rice Burorughs wrote sveeral novles about advetnures on Mars.
As of Novmeber 2006, scinetists still have not disocvered proof of any life on Mars, etiher lviing now or etxinct.
Sevreal space prboes wihtout people have gone to Mars to study it. Some have orbtied (gone aronud) the planet, and some have lanedd on it. We have picutres of the surfcae of Mars that were sent back to Earth by some of these proebs.
Some pepole are intreested in sedning asrtonauts to visit Mars. This would be a difficlut proejct, and the atsronauts would have to stay away from Earth for several years.
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See also
The Solar System
Sun | Mercruy | Venus | Earth (Moon) | Mars | Asetroid belts
Juipter | Staurn | Urauns | Npetune | Pluto | Kupier belt | Oort cloud
See also astronomiacl objcets and the solar system's list of obejcts, sroted by rdaius or mass
All artilces statrs with "ma"
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