This article is about the planet. For the deity, see Mars (mythology).

For other uses, see Mars

(disambiguation).

Mars 

Pictured in natural color in 2007[a]

Designations

Pronunciation /ˈmɑːrz/ ( listen)

Adjectives Martian /ˈmɑːrʃən/

Orbital characteristics[3]

Epoch J2000

Aphelion 249200000 km

(154800000 mi; 1.666 AU)

Perihelion 206700000 km

(128400000 mi; 1.382 AU)

Semi-major axis 227939200 km

(141634900 mi; 1.523679 AU)

Eccentricity 0.0934

Orbital period 686.971 d

(1.88082 yr; 668.5991 sols)
Synodic period 779.96 d

(2.1354 yr)

Average orbital speed 24.007 km/s

(86430 km/h; 53700 mph)

Mean anomaly 19.412°[1]

1.850° to ecliptic;
Inclination
5.65° the Sun's equator;

1.67° to invariable plane[2]

Longitude of 49.558°
ascending node

Argument of perihelion 286.502°

Satellites 2

Physical characteristics

Mean radius 3389.5 ± 0.2 km[b] [4]

(2106.1 ± 0.1 mi)

Equatorial radius 3396.2 ± 0.1 km[b] [4]

(2110.3 ± 0.1 mi; 0.533 Earths)

Polar radius 3376.2 ± 0.1 km[b] [4]

(2097.9 ± 0.1 mi; 0.531 Earths)

Flattening 0.00589±0.00015

Surface area 144798500 km2[5]

(55907000 sq mi; 0.284 Earths)

Volume 1.6318×1011 km3[6]

(0.151 Earths)

Mass 6.4171×1023 kg[7]

(0.107 Earths)

Mean density 3.9335 g/cm3[6]

(0.1421 lb/cu in)

Surface gravity 3.72076 m/s2[8]

(12.2072 ft/s2; 0.3794 g)

Moment of inertia factor 0.3662±0.0017[9]

Escape velocity 5.027 km/s

 (18100 km/h; 11250 mph)

Sidereal rotation period 1.025957 d

 24h 37m 22s[6]

Equatorial rotation velocity 241.17 m/s

(868.22 km/h; 539.49 mph)

Axial tilt 25.19° to its orbital plane[10]

North pole right ascension 317.68143°

 21h 10m 44s

North pole declination 52.88650°

Albedo 0.170 geometric[11]

0.25 Bond[10]

Surface temp. min mean max

Kelvin 130 K 210 K[10] 308 K
Celsius −143 °C[13] −63 °C 35 °C[14]
Fahrenheit −226 °F[13] −82 °F 95 °F[14]

Apparent magnitude −2.94 to +1.86[12]

Angular diameter 3.5–25.1″[10]

Atmosphere[10][15]

Surface pressure 0.636 (0.4–0.87) kPa

0.00628 atm

Composition by volume 95.97% carbon dioxide

1.93% argon

1.89% nitrogen

0.146% oxygen

0.0557% carbon

monoxide
0.0210% water vapor

0.0100% nitrogen oxide

0.00025% neon

0.00008% hydrogen

deuterium oxide
0.00003% krypton

0.00001% xenon

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Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being
only larger than Mercury. In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often
referred to as the "Red Planet".[16][17] The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on
Mars's surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies
visible to the naked eye.[18] Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface
features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice
caps of Earth.
The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period as well
as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane are similar. Mars is the site
of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar
System and of Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The
smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant
impact feature.[19][20] Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly
shaped. These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Mars trojan.[21][22]
Mars has been explored by unmanned spacecraft. Mariner 4, launched by NASA on 28
November 1964, was the first spacecraft to visit Mars, making its closest approach to the planet
on 15 July 1965. Mariner 4 detected the weak Martian radiation belt, measured at about 0.1%
that of Earth and captured the first images of another planet from deep space. [23][24] On 20 July
1976, Viking 1 performed the first successful landing on the Martian surface. [25] The Soviet Mars
3 spacecraft achieved a soft landing in December 1971 but contact was lost with
its lander seconds after touchdown.[26] On 4 July 1997, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft landed on
Mars and on 5 July released its rover, Sojourner, the first robotic rover to operate on Mars.
[27]
 Pathfinder was followed by the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which landed
on Mars in January 2004 and operated until 22 March 2010 and 10 June 2018, respectively. [28]
[29]
 The Mars Express orbiter, the first European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft to visit Mars,
arrived in orbit on 25 December 2003.[30] On 24 September 2014, the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) became the fourth space agency to visit Mars, when its maiden
interplanetary mission, the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft, arrived in orbit.[31][32]
There are investigations assessing the past habitability of Mars, as well as the possibility of
extant life. Astrobiology missions are planned, including the Perseverance and Rosalind
Franklin rovers.[33][34][35][36] Liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars due to low atmospheric
pressure, which is less than 1% of the atmospheric pressure on Earth, except at the lowest
elevations for short periods.[37][38][39] The two polar ice caps appear to be made largely of water. [40]
[41]
 The volume of water ice in the south polar ice cap, if melted, would be sufficient to cover the
planetary surface to a depth of 11 metres (36 ft).[42] In November 2016, NASA reported finding a
large amount of underground ice in the Utopia Planitia region. The volume of water detected has
been estimated to be equivalent to the volume of water in Lake Superior.[43][44][45]
Mars can easily be seen from Earth with the naked eye, as can its reddish coloring. Its apparent
magnitude reaches −2.94, which is surpassed only by Venus, the Moon and the Sun.[12] Optical
ground-based telescopes are typically limited to resolving features about 300 kilometres (190 mi)
across when Earth and Mars are closest because of Earth's atmosphere. [46]
 Contents

 1Names
 2Physical characteristics
o 2.1Internal structure
o 2.2Surface geology
o 2.3Soil
o 2.4Hydrology
 2.4.1Polar caps
o 2.5Geography and naming of surface features
 2.5.1Map of quadrangles
 2.5.2Impact topography
 2.5.3Volcanoes
 2.5.4Tectonic sites
 2.5.5Holes
o 2.6Atmosphere
 2.6.1Methane
 2.6.2Aurora
o 2.7Climate
 3Orbit and rotation
 4Habitability and search for life
 5Moons
 6Exploration
o 6.1Future
 7Astronomy on Mars
 8Viewing
o 8.1Closest approaches
 8.1.1Relative
 8.1.2Absolute, around the present time
 9Historical observations
o 9.1Ancient and medieval observations
o 9.2Martian "canals"
o 9.3Spacecraft visitation
 10In culture
o 10.1Intelligent "Martians"
 11Interactive Mars map
 12See also
 13Notes
 14References
 15External links
o 15.1Images
o 15.2Videos
o 15.3Cartographic resources

Names
In English, the planet is named for the Roman god of war, [47] an association made because of its
red color, which suggests blood. [48] The adjectival form of Latin Mars is Martius,[49] which provides
the English words Martian, used as an adjective or for a putative inhabitant of Mars, and Martial,
used as an adjective corresponding to Terrestrial for Earth.[50] In Greek, the planet is known
as Ἄρης Arēs, with the inflectional root Ἄρε- Are-.[51] From this comes technical terms such
as areology, as well as the adjective Arean[52] and the star name Antares. 'Mars' is also the basis
of the name of the month of March (from Latin Martius mēnsis 'month of Mars'), as well as
(through loan-translation) of Tuesday (Latin dies Martis 'day of Mars'), where the old Anglo-
Saxon god Tíw was identified with Roman Mars.
The archaic Latin form Māvors (/ˈmeɪvɔːrz/) is very occasionally seen in English, though the
adjectives Mavortial and Mavortian mean 'martial' in the military rather than planetary sense. [53]
Due to the global influence of European languages, a word like Mars or Marte for the planet is
common around the world, though it may be used alongside older, native words. A number of
other languages have provided words with international usage. For
example, Arabic ‫مريخ‬ mirrīkh – which has connotations of fire – is used as the (or a) name for the
planet in Persian, Urdu, Malay and Swahili,[54] among others, while Chinese 火
星 [Mandarin Huǒxīng] 'fire star' (for in Chinese the five classical planets are identified with
the five elements) is used in Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese.[55]
A long-standing nickname for Mars is the "Red Planet". That is also the planet's name
in Hebrew, ‫מאדים‬ ma'adim, which is derived from ‫אדום‬ adom, meaning 'red'.[56]

Physical characteristics
Mars is approximately half the diameter of Earth, with a surface area only slightly less than the
total area of Earth's dry land. [10] Mars is less dense than Earth, having about 15% of Earth's
volume and 11% of Earth's mass, resulting in about 38% of Earth's surface gravity. The red-
orange appearance of the Martian surface is caused by iron(III) oxide, or rust.[57] It can look like
butterscotch;[58] other common surface colors include golden, brown, tan, and greenish,
depending on the minerals present.[58]

Comparison: Earth and Mars

Animation (00:40) showing major features of Mars

Video (01:28) showing how three NASA orbiters mapped the gravity field of Mars

Internal structure
Like Earth, Mars has differentiated into a dense metallic core overlaid by less dense materials.
[59]
 Current models of its interior imply a core with a radius of about 1,794 ± 65 kilometres
(1,115 ± 40 mi), consisting primarily of iron and nickel with about 16–17% sulfur.[60] This iron(II)
sulfide core is thought to be twice as rich in lighter elements as Earth's. [61] The core is surrounded
by a silicate mantle that formed many of the tectonic and volcanic features on the planet, but it
appears to be dormant. Besides silicon and oxygen, the most abundant elements in the
Martian crust are iron, magnesium, aluminium, calcium, and potassium. The average thickness
of the planet's crust is about 50 kilometres (31 mi), with a maximum thickness of 125 kilometres
(78 mi).[61] Earth's crust averages 40 kilometres (25 mi).
Mars is seismically active, with InSight recording over 450 marsquakes and related events in
2019.[62][63]

Surface geology
Main article: Geology of Mars

The topographic map of Mars

The albedo map of Mars

Mars is a terrestrial planet that consists of minerals containing silicon and oxygen, metals, and

other elements that typically make up rock. The surface of Mars is primarily composed
of tholeiitic basalt,[64] although parts are more silica-rich than typical basalt and may be similar
to andesitic rocks on Earth or silica glass. Regions of low albedo suggest concentrations
of plagioclase feldspar, with northern low albedo regions displaying higher than normal
concentrations of sheet silicates and high-silicon glass. Parts of the southern highlands include
detectable amounts of high-calcium pyroxenes. Localized concentrations
of hematite and olivine have been found.[65] Much of the surface is deeply covered by finely
grained iron(III) oxide dust.[66][67]