Mars

Fourth planet from the Sun; a dusty, cold desert world with a thin carbon dioxide atmosphere, colored red by iron oxide surface minerals.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Mars hosts Olympus Mons, a volcano about 22 km high, and Valles Marineris, a canyon system stretching some 4,000 km.
• NASA rovers found sediments from ancient lakes and river deltas in Gale and Jezero craters, evidence of persistent liquid water billions of years ago.
• The Ingenuity helicopter made the first powered flight on another planet in April 2021 and completed 72 flights before retiring in 2024.

Specifications & Metrics

• DISTANCE FROM SUN: 1.52 AU
• DIAMETER: 6,779 km
• MOONS: 2 (Phobos, Deimos)
• ORBITAL PERIOD: 687 days