Detailed Mars Facts
- Mars and Earth have approximately the same landmass.
Even though Mars has only 15% of the Earth's volume and just over 10% of the Earth's mass, around two thirds of the Earth's surface is covered in water. Martian surface gravity is only 37% of the Earth's (meaning you could leap nearly three times higher on Mars).
- Mars is home to the tallest mountain in the solar system.
Olympus Mons, a shield volcano, is 21 km (13 mi) high and 600 km (372.8 mi) in diameter. Despite having formed over billions of years, evidence from volcanic lava flows is so recent many scientists believe it could still be active.
- Only 18 missions to Mars have been successful.
As of September 2014, there have been 40 missions to Mars, including orbiters, landers and rovers but not counting flybys. The most recent arrivals include the Mars Curiosity mission in 2012, the MAVEN mission, which arrived on September 22, 2014, followed by the Indian Space Research Organization's MOM Mangalyaan orbiter, which arrived on September 24, 2014. The next missions to arrive will be the European Space Agency's ExoMars mission, comprising an orbiter, lander, and a rover.
Lost Missions:
- 1992 - NASA's Mars Observer
- 1996 - Russia's Mars 96
- 1998 - NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter
- 1998 - Japan's Nozomi
- 1999 - NASA's Mars Polar Lander
- 2003 - ESA's Beagle 2 lander
- 2011 - Russia's Fobus-Grunt mission to Phobos with the Chinese Yinghuo-1 orbiter
- 2016 - ESA's Schiaparelli test lander
- Mars has the largest dust storms in the solar system.
They can last for months and cover the entire planet. The seasons are extreme because its elliptical orbital path around the Sun is more elongated than most other planets in the solar system.
- On Mars, the Sun appears about half the size as it does on Earth.
At the closest point to the Sun, the Martian southern hemisphere leans towards the Sun, causing a short, intensely hot summer, while the northern hemisphere endures a brief, cold winter: at its farthest point from the Sun, the Martian northern hemisphere leans towards the Sun, causing a long, mild summer, while the southern hemisphere endures a lengthy, cold winter.
- Pieces of Mars have fallen to Earth.
Scientists have found tiny traces of Martian atmosphere within meteorites violently ejected from Mars, then orbiting the solar system amongst galactic debris for millions of years, before crash landing on Earth. This allowed scientists to begin studying Mars prior to launching space missions.
- Mars takes its name from the Roman god of war.
The ancient Greeks called the planet Ares, after their god of war; the Romans then did likewise, associating the planet's blood-red colour with Mars, their own god of war. Interestingly, other ancient cultures also focused on color - to China's astronomers it was 'the fire star', while Egyptian priests called on 'Her Desher', or 'the red one'. The red color Mars is known for is due to the rock and dust covering its surface being rich in iron.
The two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall over the course of a week in 1877. Hall had almost given up his search for a moon of Mars, but his wife, Angelina, urged him on - he discovered Deimos the next night, and Phobos six days after that. He named the moons after the sons of the Greek war god Ares - Phobos means "fear," while Deimos means "rout."
- There are signs of liquid water on Mars.
For years, Mars has been known to have water in the form of ice. The first signs of trickling water are dark stripes or stains on crater wall and cliffs seen in satellite images. Due to Mars' atmosphere, this water would have to be salty to prevent it from freezing or vaporizing.
- One day Mars will have a ring.
In the next 20-40 million years Mars' largest moon Phobos will be torn apart by gravitational forces leading to the creation of a ring that could last up to 100 million years.
- Science Fiction Books - Mars
- Bova, Ben
- Mars
- Mars (1992)
- Return to Mars (1999)
- Mars Life (2008)
- - Synopsis -
Navajo geologist Jamie Waterman is surprised to find that he will be going on the first mission to Mars, as part of the landing crew. They will only have a few months to explore the Red Planet; a few months to prove that this world is worth another mission, as this one took decades to put together. With limited supplies, the six men and women set out to explore the top of Olympus Mons and the bottom of Valles Marineris; having only each other to rely on. As the book draws to an end Waterman makes one of the biggest discoveries in the System, and finds a clue of even a bigger one.
Jamie Waterman returns to Mars after his historic first visit, but this time there are strings attached to his mission. The new expedition is funded by billionaire Dex Trumball and his father, who have their own agenda. Rather than pursuing scientific discovery, Dex and his father want to turn Mars into an attraction for space tourists. To add to the complications, Jamie and Dex are both vying for the affection of the same female member of the expedition.
Jamie Waterman is back as Director of the Mars Program; along with his wife Vijay, the beautiful Indian-Aussie, and Dex Trumball, the Director of the Board in charge of Mars financing. The death of his son bring Waterman and his wife back to Earth, and puts them both in a slump. Over the years, the New Morality has slowly been taking over the American government, and gaining power; the NM restricts and censors anything that is a threat to them, and hide behind religion. One of their biggest concerns is the Mars program, which is taking money away from projects that would benefit the dystopian-style Earth. As money is slowly cut off from Mars, Dex & Jamie rush to find a solution to keeps the exploration of Mars open; however both have different views. Waterman wants to preserve the Martian life and culture, while Dex is willing to open Mars up to wealthy tourists. The Navajo scientist and Vijay return to Mars in time of great discovering; a Martian village and relics have been found, as well as what might be a graveyard, holding remains of an ancient, intelligent Martian race. Jamie struggles to find the balance of things, as time and money begin to run out; and the answer could be found in his dreams.
- Bradbury, Ray
- The Martian Chronicles
- The Martian Chronicles (1950)
- - Synopsis -
The Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story fixup by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists. The book lies somewhere in between a short story collection and an episodic novel, containing stories Bradbury originally published in the late 1940s in science fiction magazines. The stories were loosely woven together with a series of short, interstitial vignettes for publication.
- Burroughs, Edgar Rice
- John Carter of Mars Series
- A Princess of Mars (1917)
- The Gods of Mars (1918)
- The Warlord of Mars (1919)
- Thuvia, Maid of Mars (1920)
- The Chessmen of Mars (1922)
- The Master Mind of Mars (1927)
- A Fighting Man of Mars (1930)
- Swords of Mars (1934)
- Synthetic Men of Mars (1938)
- John Carter of Mars (1941)
- Llana of Gathol (1948)
- - Synopsis -
Captain John Carter of the Confederate Army is whisked to Mars (Barsoom) and discovers a dying world of dry ocean beds where giant four-armed barbarians rule, of crumbling cities home to an advanced but decaying civilization, a world of strange beasts and savage combat, a world where love, honor and loyalty become the stuff of adventure. In eleven books, Burroughs takes the reader all around the Red Planet (and even to Jupiter), while the action and excitement never let up. Take a trip down the sacred River Iss to the Valley Dor at Barsoom's south pole, but be warned you might wind up the meal for a flesh-eating plant man! Visit the city of Manator, where the citizens play chess with live pieces to the death. Pay your respects to Ras Thavas, the Master Mind of Mars, who will be happy to transplant your brain into the body of your choice or maybe into the body of a giant ape. Rescue princesses from impenetrable fortresses, gallop across the sea bottoms of Barsoom astride your eight-legged thoat, or race through the thin air of Mars aboard your anti-gravity flier.
- Weir, Andy
- Mars
- The Martian (2011)
- - Synopsis -
In 2035, the crew of the NASA Ares 3 mission to Mars are ordered to lift off from their landing site in Acidalia Planitia six days into their planned month-long stay due to an intense dust storm which threatens to topple their launch vehicle. During the hurried evacuation, astronaut Mark Watney, a botanist and engineer, is impaled by an antenna that was torn loose, flung out of sight by the wind and believed dead. Lewis, the mission commander, has no choice but to abandon the search for him, as the launch vehicle teeters dangerously. However, Watney is not dead. His injury proves relatively minor, but with no way to contact Earth, he must rely on his own resourcefulness to survive.
- Wells, H. G.
- Mars
- The War of the Worlds (1898)
- - Synopsis -
The narrative opens by stating that as humans on Earth busied themselves with their own endeavors during the 1890s, aliens on Mars began plotting an invasion of Earth to replenish their limited resources. In 1899, the narrator is invited to an astronomical observatory at Ottershaw where explosions are seen on the surface of planet Mars, creating much interest in the scientific community. Later, a "meteor" lands on Horsell Common, near the unnamed narrator's home in Woking, Surrey. He is among the first to discover that the object is an artificial cylinder that opens, disgorging Martians who are "big" and "greyish" with "oily brown skin", "the size, perhaps, of a bear", each with "two large dark-coloured eyes", and lipless "V-shaped mouths" which drip saliva and are surrounded by two "Gorgon groups of tentacles". The narrator finds them "at once vital, intense, inhuman, crippled and monstrous".
|
