Mars is the most studied planet in the solar system after the Earth, it is considered as a potential planet for human colonization. Mars has always been an object of human curiosity and it often appears in science fiction movies and books.
1. Mars has long been described in myths, that was full of mystery, the appearance of a red planet in the sky predicted the outbreak of war. Because of its red color, many ancient peoples believed that Mars was covered in blood and that is why it was named after the Roman god of war – Mars.
2. The simple explanation for the red color of the planet is a large amount of iron oxide on its surface. In other words, there is so much iron on Mars that the planet is literally covered in rusty dust. The hue of the planet depends on the seasons, which Mars also has four.
3. Like the Earth, Mars is not perfectly spherical, but it is slightly flattened at the poles. This small flattening is also caused by the rotation of the planet around its axis.
4. Mars is the fourth and last rocky planet in the solar system. The rest of the planets are made primarily of gases and liquids.
5. A day on Mars is 24 hours and 37 minutes, a year, however, it is almost twice as long, lasting 687 Earth days.
6. Oddly enough, while the sky is red during the day, the sunset on Mars appear blue.
7. Martian craters which are more than 60 km in diameter, are named in honor of the famous scientists and science fiction authors if less than after towns on Earth.
8. In the myths of ancient Greece, Deimos (Terror) and Phobos (Fear), the sons of Ares, the god of war, always accompanied their father into wars and battles. That is why in 1877, the American astronomer Asaf Hall, who discovered the two moons of Mars gave them the names Deimos and Phobos.
9. Since the moons of Mars are odd shapes and strange composition, scientists assume that they can be asteroids, which Mars captured by its gravity.
10. Computer modeling showed that Mars’ largest moon Phobos is moving towards its planet. In the next 20-40 million years, it will come so close that Mars may completely crush its innermost satellite and after 100,000,000 years, form a ring of rocky debris.
11. Gravity on Mars is 62.5% less than on Earth. This means that an astronaut who on Earth has a mass of 80 kg, on Mars will weigh only 30 kg.
12. By 2013, out of 13 attempted Mars landings, 6 have failed.
13. In 1997, three men from Yemen tried to sue NASA for invading Mars. They claimed they own the red planet and inherited the planet from their ancestors 3,000 years ago.
14. Recent data from orbital flights to Mars indicate that it has an iron core that helps generate a weak magnetic field. The magnetic field of Mars is weaker than the Earth’s field by about 800 times.
15. Although scientists did not record the eruption of a volcano on Mars in real-time, Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system – Olympus Mons, which rises 21 km above the surrounding plains. This huge mountain formed by lava flows millions of years ago.
16. There are two ice caps on Mars that change in size depending on the seasons. Both Martian polar caps are composed of frozen water, but the southern one is always covered with frozen carbon dioxide – dry ice.
17. Another highlight on Mars is the Valles Marineris. It is a huge canyon system on the equator of the planet more than 4200 km long, for comparison, the territory of Ukraine extends from west to east on 1316 km.
18. Few people know that Mars has its own flag. It was designed by NASA engineers, and although it has no official flag status, it has already been approved by the Mars Society and The Planetary Society. Also, the flag has already been in orbit. It consists of three vertical stripes of different colors that symbolize the future history of Mars. The red band is the planet today, and green (plants) and blue (water) are the future stages of the probable development of Mars by humans.
19. The conditions on Mars are very hostile to humans, in particular, the planet is constantly receiving huge doses of radiation and the average temperature on the planet is -63 ° C. There is a very thin atmosphere here, the pressure on the planet is so low that a person without a special suit will die very quickly. Mars also has occasionally incredibly powerful dust storms with winds of more than 190 km/h, which can last for months and cover the entire planet.
20. Despite the extreme environmental conditions on the Red Planet, over 100,000 people have applied for a one-way trip to colonize Mars.
