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Historical observations
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Physical characteristics
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Orbit and rotation


Habitability and search for life


Moons


Exploration
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In culture


See also


Notes


References


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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


This article is about the planet. For the deity, see Mars (mythology). For other uses,
see Mars (disambiguation).
"Fourth planet" redirects here. For other systems of numbering planets, see Planet
§  History. For the Zooniverse project, see Zooniverse §  Space projects.

Mars 

Mars seen by the Mars Orbiter Mission space probe in true color with a

regular Bayer filter[1]

Designations
Alternative names the Red Planet

Adjectives Martian

Orbital characteristics[6]

Epoch J2000

Aphelion 249261000 km

(154884000 mi; 1.66621 AU)[2]

Perihelion 206650000 km

(128410000 mi; 1.3814 AU)[2]

Semi-major axis 227939366 km

(141634956 mi; 1.52368055 AU)[3]

Eccentricity 0.0934[2]

Orbital period (sidereal) 686.980 d

(1.88085 yr; 668.5991 sols)[2]

Orbital period (synodic) 779.94 d

(2.1354 yr)[3]

Average orbital speed 24.07 km/s

(86700 km/h; 53800 mph)[2]

Mean anomaly 19.412°[2]

 1.850° to ecliptic
Inclination
 5.65° to Sun's equator

 1.63° to invariable plane[4]

Longitude of 49.57854°[2]
ascending node

Time of perihelion 2022-Jun-21[5]


Argument of perihelion 286.5°[3]

Satellites 2

Physical characteristics

Mean radius 3389.5 ± 0.2 km[a] [7]

(2106.1 ± 0.1 mi)

Equatorial radius 3396.2 ± 0.1 km[a] [7]

(2110.3 ± 0.1 mi; 0.533 Earths)

Polar radius 3376.2 ± 0.1 km[a] [7]

(2097.9 ± 0.1 mi; 0.531 Earths)

Flattening 0.00589±0.00015[5][7]

Surface area 144.37×106 km2[8]

(5.574×107 sq mi; 0.284 Earths)

Volume 1.63118×1011 km3[9]

(0.151 Earths)

Mass 6.4171×1023 kg[10]

(0.107 Earths)

Mean density 3.9335 g/cm3[9]

(0.1421 lb/cu in)

Surface gravity 3.72076 m/s2[11]

(12.2072 ft/s2; 0.3794 g)

Moment of inertia factor 0.3644±0.0005[10]

Escape velocity 5.027 km/s

(18100 km/h; 11250 mph)[12]

Synodic rotation period 1.02749125 d[13]

24h 39m 36s

Sidereal rotation period 1.025957 d

24h 37m 22.7s[9]

Equatorial rotation velocity 241 m/s

(870 km/h; 540 mph)[2]

Axial tilt 25.19° to its orbital plane[2]


North pole right ascension 317.68143°[7]

21h 10m 44s

North pole declination 52.88650°[7]

Albedo  0.170 geometric[14]

 0.25 Bond[2]

Temperature 209 K (−64 °C) (blackbody

temperature)[15]

Surface temp. min mean max


Celsius −110 °C [17]
−60 °C [18]
35 °C[17]
Fahrenheit −166 °F[17] −80 °F[18] 95 °F[17]

Surface absorbed dose rate 8.8 μGy/h[19]

Surface equivalent 27 μSv/h[19]

dose rate

Apparent magnitude −2.94 to +1.86[16]

Angular diameter 3.5–25.1″[2]

Atmosphere[2][20]

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

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the third largest and massive terrestrial


object in the Solar System. Mars has a thin atmosphere and a crust primarily composed
of elements similar to Earth's crust, as well as a core made of iron and nickel. Mars has
surface features such as impact craters, valleys, dunes, and polar ice caps. Mars has
two small, irregularly shaped moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Some of the most notable surface features on Mars include Olympus Mons, the
largest volcano and highest-known mountain in the Solar System, and Valles Marineris,
one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The Borealis basin in the Northern
Hemisphere covers approximately 40% of the planet and may be a large impact feature.
[21]
 Days and seasons on Mars are comparable to those of Earth, as the planets have a
similar rotation period and tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane.
Liquid water on the surface of Mars cannot exist due to low atmospheric pressure,
which is less than 1% of the atmospheric pressure on Earth. [22][23] Both of Mars's polar ice
caps appear to be made largely of water.[24][25] In the distant past, Mars was likely wetter,
and thus possibly more suited for life. It is not known whether life has ever existed on
Mars.
Mars has been explored by several uncrewed spacecraft, beginning with Mariner 4 in
1965. NASA's Viking 1 lander transmitted the first images from the Martian surface in
1976. Two countries have successfully deployed rovers on Mars, the United States first
doing so with Sojourner in 1997 and China with Zhurong in 2021.[26] There are also
planned future missions to Mars, such as a NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return set to
happen in 2026, and the Rosalind Franklin rover mission, which was intended to launch
in 2018 but was delayed to 2024 at the earliest, with a more likely launch date at 2028.
Mars can be viewed from Earth with the naked eye, as can its reddish coloring. This
appearance, due to the iron oxide prevalent on its surface, has led to Mars often being
called the Red Planet.[27][28] It is among the brightest objects in Earth's sky, with
an apparent magnitude that reaches −2.94, comparable to that of Jupiter and surpassed
only by Venus, the Moon and the Sun.[16] Mars has been observed since ancient times.
Over the millennia it has been featured in culture and the arts in ways that have
reflected humanity's growing knowledge of it.

Historical observations
Main article: History of Mars observation
The history of observations of Mars is marked by the oppositions of Mars when the
planet is closest to Earth and hence is most easily visible, which occur every couple of
years. Even more notable are the perihelic oppositions of Mars, which are distinguished
because Mars is close to perihelion, making it even closer to Earth. [29]
Ancient and medieval observations
The ancient Sumerians named Mars Nergal, the god of war and plague. During
Sumerian times, Nergal was a minor deity of little significance, but, during later times,
his main cult center was the city of Nineveh.[30] In Mesopotamian texts, Mars is referred
to as the "star of judgement of the fate of the dead." [31] The existence of Mars as a
wandering object in the night sky was also recorded by the ancient Egyptian
astronomers and, by 1534 BCE, they were familiar with the retrograde motion of the
planet.[32] By the period of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the Babylonian astronomers were
making regular records of the positions of the planets and systematic observations of
their behavior. For Mars, they knew that the planet made 37 synodic periods, or 42
circuits of the zodiac, every 79 years. They invented arithmetic methods for making
minor corrections to the predicted positions of the planets. [33][34] In Ancient Greece, the
planet was known as Πυρόεις.[35] Commonly, the Greek name for the planet now referred
to as Mars, was Ares. It was the Romans who named the planet Mars, for their god of
war, often represented by the sword and shield of the planet's namesake. [36]
In the fourth century BCE, Aristotle noted that Mars disappeared behind the Moon
during an occultation, indicating that the planet was farther away.[37] Ptolemy, a Greek
living in Alexandria,[38] attempted to address the problem of the orbital motion of Mars.
Ptolemy's model and his collective work on astronomy was presented in the multi-
volume collection later called the Almagest (from the Arabic for "greatest"), which
became the authoritative treatise on Western astronomy for the next fourteen centuries.
[39]
 Literature from ancient China confirms that Mars was known by Chinese
astronomers by no later than the fourth century BCE.[40] In the East Asian cultures, Mars
is traditionally referred to as the "fire star" (Chinese: 火星), based on
the Wuxing system.[41][42][43]
During the seventeenth century A.D., Tycho Brahe measured the diurnal parallax of
Mars that Johannes Kepler used to make a preliminary calculation of the relative
distance to the planet.[44] From Brahe's observations of Mars, Kepler deduced that the
planet orbited the Sun not in a circle, but in an ellipse. Moreover, Kepler showed that
Mars sped up as it approached the Sun and slowed down as it moved farther away, in a
manner that later physicists would explain as a consequence of the conservation of
angular momentum.[45]: 433–437  When the telescope became available, the diurnal parallax of
Mars was again measured in an effort to determine the Sun-Earth distance. This was
first performed by Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1672. The early parallax
measurements were hampered by the quality of the instruments. [46] The
only occultation of Mars by Venus observed was that of 13 October 1590, seen
by Michael Maestlin at Heidelberg.[47] In 1610, Mars was viewed by Italian
astronomer Galileo Galilei, who was first to see it via telescope.[48] The first person to
draw a map of Mars that displayed any terrain features was the Dutch
astronomer Christiaan Huygens.[49]
Martian "canals"
Main article: Martian canals
By the 19th century, the resolution of telescopes reached a level sufficient for surface
features to be identified. On 5 September 1877, a perihelic opposition of Mars occurred.
The Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli used a 22-centimetre (8.7 in) telescope
in Milan to help produce the first detailed map of Mars. These maps notably contained
features he called canali, which were later shown to be an optical illusion.
These canali were supposedly long, straight lines on the surface of Mars, to which he
gave names of famous rivers on Earth. His term, which means "channels" or "grooves",
was popularly mistranslated in English as "canals". [50][51]
Influenced by the observations, the orientalist Percival Lowell founded an
observatory which had 30- and 45-centimetre (12- and 18-in) telescopes. The
observatory was used for the exploration of Mars during the last good opportunity in
1894 and the following less favorable oppositions. He published several books on Mars
and life on the planet, which had a great influence on the public. [52][53] The canali were
independently observed by other astronomers, like Henri Joseph Perrotin and Louis
Thollon in Nice, using one of the largest telescopes of that time. [54][55]
The seasonal changes (consisting of the diminishing of the polar caps and the dark
areas formed during Martian summer) in combination with the canals led to speculation
about life on Mars, and it was a long-held belief that Mars contained vast seas and
vegetation. As bigger telescopes were used, fewer long, straight canali were observed.
During observations in 1909 by Antoniadi with an 84-centimetre (33 in) telescope,
irregular patterns were observed, but no canali were seen.[56]

Physical characteristics

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

Mars is approximately half the diameter of Earth, with a surface area only slightly less
than the total area of Earth's dry land.[2] 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 ferric
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]
Internal structure
Like Earth, Mars has differentiated into a dense metallic core overlaid by less dense
materials.[59][60] Current models of its interior imply a core consisting primarily of iron and
nickel with about 16–17% sulfur.[61] This iron(II) sulfide core is thought to be twice as rich
in lighter elements as Earth's.[62] 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).[62] By comparison, Earth's crust averages 40 kilometres (25 mi)
in thickness.[63][64]
Mars is seismically active. In 2019, it was reported that InSight (now offline) had
detected and recorded over 450 marsquakes and related events.[65][66] In 2021 it was
reported that based on eleven low-frequency marsquakes detected by
the InSight lander the core of Mars was indeed liquid and had a radius of
about 1830±40 km and a temperature around 1900–2000 K. The Martian core radius is
abnormally large, accounting for more than half the radius of Mars and about half the
size of the Earth's core. To this, it has been suggested that the core contains some
amount of lighter elements like oxygen and hydrogen in addition to the iron–nickel alloy
and about 15% of sulfur.[67][68]
The core of Mars is overlaid by the rocky mantle, which does not seem to have a
thermally insulating layer analogous to the Earth's lower mantle.[68] The Martian mantle
appears to be solid down to the depth of about 500 km, where the low-velocity
zone (partially melted asthenosphere) begins.[69] Below the asthenosphere the velocity of
seismic waves starts to grow again; and at the depth of about 1050 km lies the
boundary of the transition zone extending down to the core.[68]
Surface geology
Main article: Geology of Mars

Geologic map of Mars (USGS, 2014)[70]

Mars is a terrestrial planet with a surface that consists of minerals containing silicon and


oxygen, metals, and other elements that typically make up rock. The Martian surface is
primarily composed of tholeiitic basalt,[71] 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.
[72]
 Much of the surface is deeply covered by finely grained iron(III) oxide dust.[73]
Although Mars has no evidence of a structured global magnetic field,[74] observations
show that parts of the planet's crust have been magnetized, suggesting that alternating
polarity reversals of its dipole field have occurred in the past. This paleomagnetism of
magnetically susceptible minerals is similar to the alternating bands found on Earth's
ocean floors. One theory, published in 1999 and re-examined in October 2005 (with the
help of the Mars Global Surveyor), is that these bands suggest plate tectonic activity on
Mars four billion years ago, before the planetary dynamo ceased to function and the
planet's magnetic field faded.[75]
Scientists have theorized that during the Solar System's formation Mars was created as
the result of a random process of run-away accretion of material from the protoplanetary
disk that orbited the Sun. Mars has many distinctive chemical features caused by its
position in the Solar System. Elements with comparatively low boiling points, such
as chlorine, phosphorus, and sulfur, are much more common on Mars than Earth; these
elements were probably pushed outward by the young Sun's energetic solar wind.[76]
After the formation of the planets, all were subjected to the so-called "Late Heavy
Bombardment". About 60% of the surface of Mars shows a record of impacts from that
era,[77][78][79] whereas much of the remaining surface is probably underlain by immense
impact basins caused by those events. There is evidence of an enormous impact basin
in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars, spanning 10,600 by 8,500 kilometres (6,600 by
5,300 mi), or roughly four times the size of the Moon's South Pole – Aitken basin, the
largest impact basin yet discovered.[80] This theory suggests that Mars was struck by
a Pluto-sized body about four billion years ago. The event, thought to be the cause of
the Martian hemispheric dichotomy, created the smooth Borealis basin that covers 40%
of the planet.[81][82]
The geological history of Mars can be split into many periods, but the following are the
three primary periods:[83][84]

 Noachian period: Formation of the oldest extant surfaces of Mars, 4.5 to


3.5 billion years ago. Noachian age surfaces are scarred by many large
impact craters. The Tharsis bulge, a volcanic upland, is thought to have
formed during this period, with extensive flooding by liquid water late in the
period. Named after Noachis Terra.[85]
 Hesperian period: 3.5 to between 3.3 and 2.9 billion years ago. The
Hesperian period is marked by the formation of extensive lava plains. Named
after Hesperia Planum.[85]
 Amazonian period: between 3.3 and 2.9 billion years ago to the present.
Amazonian regions have few meteorite impact craters but are otherwise quite
varied. Olympus Mons formed during this period, with lava flows elsewhere
on Mars. Named after Amazonis Planitia.[85]
Geological activity is still taking place on Mars. The Athabasca Valles is home to sheet-
like lava flows created about 200 mya. Water flows in the grabens called the Cerberus
Fossae occurred less than 20 Mya, indicating equally recent volcanic intrusions.
[86]
 The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured images of avalanches.[87][88]
Soil
Main article: Martian soil

Curiosity's view of Martian soil and boulders after crossing the "Dingo Gap" sand dune
The Phoenix lander returned data showing Martian soil to be slightly alkaline and
containing elements such as magnesium, sodium, potassium and chlorine. These
nutrients are found in soils on Earth. They are necessary for growth of plants.
[89]
 Experiments performed by the lander showed that the Martian soil has a basic pH of
7.7, and contains 0.6% of the salt perchlorate,[90][91] concentrations that are toxic to
humans.[92][93]
Streaks are common across Mars and new ones appear frequently on steep slopes of
craters, troughs, and valleys. The streaks are dark at first and get lighter with age. The
streaks can start in a tiny area, then spread out for hundreds of metres. They have been
seen to follow the edges of boulders and other obstacles in their path. The commonly
accepted theories include that they are dark underlying layers of soil revealed after
avalanches of bright dust or dust devils.[94] Several other explanations have been put
forward, including those that involve water or even the growth of organisms. [95][96]
Hydrology
Main article: Water on Mars

Martian plain covered by water ice, precipitated through adhering to dry ice, observed by Viking 2 lander
Proportion of water ice present in the upper meter of the Martian surface for lower (top) and higher (bottom)
latitudes

Water in its liquid form cannot exist on the surface of Mars due to low atmospheric
pressure, which is less than 1% that of Earth, [22] except at the lowest of elevations for
short periods.[60][97] The two polar ice caps appear to be made largely of water. [24][25] The
volume of water ice in the south polar ice cap, if melted, would be enough to cover the
entire surface of the planet with a depth of 11 metres (36 ft).[98] Large quantities of ice are
thought to be trapped within the thick cryosphere of Mars. Radar data from Mars
Express and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) show large quantities of ice at
both poles,[99][100] and at middle latitudes.[101] The Phoenix lander directly sampled water ice
in shallow Martian soil on 31 July 2008.[102]
Landforms visible on Mars strongly suggest that liquid water has existed on the planet's
surface. Huge linear swathes of scoured ground, known as outflow channels, cut across
the surface in about 25 places. These are thought to be a record of erosion caused by
the catastrophic release of water from subsurface aquifers, though some of these
structures have been hypothesized to result from the action of glaciers or lava. [103][104] One
of the larger examples, Ma'adim Vallis, is 700 kilometres (430 mi) long, much greater
than the Grand Canyon, with a width of 20 kilometres (12 mi) and a depth of 2
kilometres (1.2 mi) in places. It is thought to have been carved by flowing water early in
Mars's history.[105] The youngest of these channels are thought to have formed only a few
million years ago.[106] Elsewhere, particularly on the oldest areas of the Martian surface,
finer-scale, dendritic networks of valleys are spread across significant proportions of the
landscape. Features of these valleys and their distribution strongly imply that they were
carved by runoff resulting from precipitation in early Mars history. Subsurface water flow
and groundwater sapping may play important subsidiary roles in some networks, but
precipitation was probably the root cause of the incision in almost all cases. [107]
Along crater and canyon walls, there are thousands of features that appear similar to
terrestrial gullies. The gullies tend to be in the highlands of the Southern Hemisphere
and to face the Equator; all are poleward of 30° latitude. A number of authors have
suggested that their formation process involves liquid water, probably from melting ice,
[108][109]
 although others have argued for formation mechanisms involving carbon dioxide
frost or the movement of dry dust.[110][111] No partially degraded gullies have formed by
weathering and no superimposed impact craters have been observed, indicating that
these are young features, possibly still active.[109] Other geological features, such
as deltas and alluvial fans preserved in craters, are further evidence for warmer, wetter
conditions at an interval or intervals in earlier Mars history. [112] Such conditions
necessarily require the widespread presence of crater lakes across a large proportion of
the surface, for which there is independent mineralogical, sedimentological and
geomorphological evidence.[113] Further evidence that liquid water once existed on the
surface of Mars comes from the detection of specific minerals such
as hematite and goethite, both of which sometimes form in the presence of water. [114]
Polar caps
Main article: Martian polar ice caps

North polar early summer water ice cap (1999); a seasonal layer of carbon dioxide ice forms in winter and
disappears in summer.

South polar midsummer ice cap (2000); the south cap has a permanent carbon dioxide ice cap covered with
water ice.[115]

Mars has two permanent polar ice caps. During a pole's winter, it lies in continuous
darkness, chilling the surface and causing the deposition of 25–30% of the atmosphere
into slabs of CO2 ice (dry ice).[116] When the poles are again exposed to sunlight, the
frozen CO2 sublimes. These seasonal actions transport large amounts of dust and water
vapor, giving rise to Earth-like frost and large cirrus clouds. Clouds of water-ice were
photographed by the Opportunity rover in 2004.[117]
The caps at both poles consist primarily (70% [citation needed]) of water ice. Frozen carbon
dioxide accumulates as a comparatively thin layer about one metre thick on the north
cap in the northern winter only, whereas the south cap has a permanent dry ice cover
about eight metres thick. This permanent dry ice cover at the south pole is peppered
by flat floored, shallow, roughly circular pits, which repeat imaging shows are expanding
in some places and retreating in others. [118] The northern polar cap has a diameter of
about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi),[119] and contains about 1.6 million cubic kilometres
(5.7×1016 cu ft) of ice, which, if spread evenly on the cap, would be 2 kilometres (1.2 mi)
thick.[120] (This compares to a volume of 2.85 million cubic kilometres (1.01×1017 cu ft) for
the Greenland ice sheet.) The southern polar cap has a diameter of 350 kilometres
(220 mi) and a thickness of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi).[121] The total volume of ice in the south
polar cap plus the adjacent layered deposits has been estimated at 1.6 million cubic km.
[122]
 Both polar caps show spiral troughs, which recent analysis of SHARAD ice
penetrating radar has shown are a result of katabatic winds that spiral due to
the Coriolis effect.[123][124]
The seasonal frosting of areas near the southern ice cap results in the formation of
transparent 1-metre-thick slabs of dry ice above the ground. With the arrival of spring,
sunlight warms the subsurface and pressure from subliming CO 2 builds up under a slab,
elevating and ultimately rupturing it. This leads to geyser-like eruptions of CO2 gas
mixed with dark basaltic sand or dust. This process is rapid, observed happening in the
space of a few days, weeks or months, a rate of change rather unusual in geology –
especially for Mars. The gas rushing underneath a slab to the site of a geyser carves a
spiderweb-like pattern of radial channels under the ice, the process being the inverted
equivalent of an erosion network formed by water draining through a single plughole. [125]
[126]

Observations and findings of water evidence


Main article: Chronology of discoveries of water on Mars
In 2004, Opportunity detected the mineral jarosite. This forms only in the presence of
acidic water, showing that water once existed on Mars. [127][128] The Spirit rover found
concentrated deposits of silica in 2007 that indicated wet conditions in the past, and in
December 2011, the mineral gypsum, which also forms in the presence of water, was
found on the surface by NASA's Mars rover Opportunity. [129][130][131] It is estimated that the
amount of water in the upper mantle of Mars, represented by hydroxyl ions contained
within Martian minerals, is equal to or greater than that of Earth at 50–300 parts per
million of water, which is enough to cover the entire planet to a depth of 200–1,000
metres (660–3,280 ft).[132][133]

A cross-section of underground water ice is exposed at the steep slope that appears bright blue in this
enhanced-color view from the MRO.

On 18 March 2013, NASA reported evidence from instruments on


the Curiosity rover of mineral hydration, likely hydrated calcium sulfate, in several rock
samples including the broken fragments of "Tintina" rock and "Sutton Inlier" rock as well
as in veins and nodules in other rocks like "Knorr" rock and "Wernicke" rock.[134]
[135]
 Analysis using the rover's DAN instrument provided evidence of subsurface water,
amounting to as much as 4% water content, down to a depth of 60 centimetres (24 in),
during the rover's traverse from the Bradbury Landing site to the Yellowknife Bay area in
the Glenelg terrain.[134] In September 2015, NASA announced that they had found strong
evidence of hydrated brine flows in recurring slope lineae, based on spectrometer
readings of the darkened areas of slopes. [136][137][138] These streaks flow downhill in Martian
summer, when the temperature is above −23° Celsius, and freeze at lower
temperatures.[139] These observations supported earlier hypotheses, based on timing of
formation and their rate of growth, that these dark streaks resulted from water flowing
just below the surface.[140] However, later work suggested that the lineae may be dry,
granular flows instead, with at most a limited role for water in initiating the process. [141] A
definitive conclusion about the presence, extent, and role of liquid water on the Martian
surface remains elusive.[142][143]
Researchers suspect much of the low northern plains of the planet were covered with
an ocean hundreds of meters deep, though this theory remains controversial. [144] In
March 2015, scientists stated that such an ocean might have been the size of
Earth's Arctic Ocean. This finding was derived from the ratio of protium to deuterium in
the modern Martian atmosphere compared to that ratio on Earth. The amount of Martian
deuterium is eight times the amount that exists on Earth, suggesting that ancient Mars
had significantly higher levels of water. Results from the Curiosity rover had previously
found a high ratio of deuterium in Gale Crater, though not significantly high enough to
suggest the former presence of an ocean. Other scientists caution that these results
have not been confirmed, and point out that Martian climate models have not yet shown
that the planet was warm enough in the past to support bodies of liquid water. [145] Near
the northern polar cap is the 81.4 kilometres (50.6 mi) wide Korolev Crater, which
the Mars Express orbiter found to be filled with approximately 2,200 cubic kilometres
(530 cu mi) of water ice.[146]
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 (which is 12,100 cubic kilometres[147]).
[148][149]
 During observations from 2018 through 2021, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
spotted indications of water, probably subsurface ice, in the Valles Marineris canyon
system.[150]
Geography and names
Main article: Geography of Mars
Further information: Areoid
See also: Category:Surface features of Mars
A MOLA-based topographic map showing highlands (red and orange) dominating the Southern Hemisphere of
Mars, lowlands (blue) the northern. Volcanic plateaus delimit regions of the northern plains, whereas the
highlands are punctuated by several large impact basins.

Terminology of Martian geological features

Although better remembered for mapping the Moon, Johann Heinrich


Mädler and Wilhelm Beer were the first areographers. They began by establishing that
most of Mars's surface features were permanent and by more precisely determining the
planet's rotation period. In 1840, Mädler combined ten years of observations and drew
the first map of Mars.[151]
Features on Mars are named from a variety of sources. Albedo features are named for
classical mythology. Craters larger than roughly 50 km are named for deceased
scientists and writers and others who have contributed to the study of Mars. Smaller
craters are named for towns and villages of the world with populations of less than
100,000. Large valleys are named for the word "Mars" or "star" in various languages;
smaller valleys are named for rivers.[152]
Large albedo features retain many of the older names but are often updated to reflect
new knowledge of the nature of the features. For example, Nix Olympica (the snows of
Olympus) has become Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus).[153] The surface of Mars as
seen from Earth is divided into two kinds of areas, with differing albedo. The paler plains
covered with dust and sand rich in reddish iron oxides were once thought of as Martian
"continents" and given names like Arabia Terra (land of Arabia) or Amazonis
Planitia (Amazonian plain). The dark features were thought to be seas, hence their
names Mare Erythraeum, Mare Sirenum and Aurorae Sinus. The largest dark feature
seen from Earth is Syrtis Major Planum.[154] The permanent northern polar ice cap is
named Planum Boreum. The southern cap is called Planum Australe.[155]
Mars's equator is defined by its rotation, but the location of its Prime Meridian was
specified, as was Earth's (at Greenwich), by choice of an arbitrary point; Mädler and
Beer selected a line for their first maps of Mars in 1830. After the spacecraft Mariner
9 provided extensive imagery of Mars in 1972, a small crater (later called Airy-0),
located in the Sinus Meridiani ("Middle Bay" or "Meridian Bay"), was chosen by Merton
Davies, Harold Masursky, and Gérard de Vaucouleurs for the definition of 0.0° longitude
to coincide with the original selection. [156][157][158]
Because Mars has no oceans and hence no "sea level", a zero-elevation surface had to
be selected as a reference level; this is called the areoid[159] of Mars, analogous to the
terrestrial geoid.[160] Zero altitude was defined by the height at which there is
610.5 Pa (6.105 mbar) of atmospheric pressure.[161] This pressure corresponds to
the triple point of water, and it is about 0.6% of the sea level surface pressure on Earth
(0.006 atm).[162]
For mapping purposes, the United States Geological Survey divides the surface of Mars
into thirty cartographic quadrangles, each named for a classical albedo feature it
contains.[163] In April 2023, The New York Times reported an updated global map of Mars
based on images from the Hope spacecraft.[164] A related, but much more detailed, global
Mars map was released by NASA on 16 April 2023.[165]
Volcanoes
Main article: Volcanology of Mars
Viking 1 image of Olympus Mons. The volcano and related terrain are approximately 550 km (340 mi) across.

The shield volcano Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus) is an extinct volcano in the vast


upland region Tharsis, which contains several other large volcanoes. The edifice is over
600 km (370 mi) wide.[166][167] Because the mountain is so large, with complex structure at
its edges, allocating a height to it is difficult. Its local relief, from the foot of the cliffs
which form its northwest margin to its peak, is over 21 km (13 mi),[167] a little over twice
the height of Mauna Kea as measured from its base on the ocean floor. The total
elevation change from the plains of Amazonis Planitia, over 1,000 km (620 mi) to the
northwest, to the summit approaches 26 km (16 mi),[168] roughly three times the height
of Mount Everest, which in comparison stands at just over 8.8 kilometres (5.5 mi).
Consequently, Olympus Mons is either the tallest or second-tallest mountain in the
Solar System; the only known mountain which might be taller is the Rheasilvia peak on
the asteroid Vesta, at 20–25 km (12–16 mi).[169]
Impact topography
The dichotomy of Martian topography is striking: northern plains flattened by lava flows
contrast with the southern highlands, pitted and cratered by ancient impacts. It is
possible that, four billion years ago, the Northern Hemisphere of Mars was struck by an
object one-tenth to two-thirds the size of Earth's Moon. If this is the case, the Northern
Hemisphere of Mars would be the site of an impact crater 10,600 by 8,500 kilometres
(6,600 by 5,300 mi) in size, or roughly the area of Europe, Asia, and Australia
combined, surpassing Utopia Planitia and the Moon's South Pole–Aitken basin as the
largest impact crater in the Solar System. [170][171][172]
Mars is scarred by a number of impact craters: a total of 43,000 craters with a diameter
of 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) or greater have been found.[173] The largest exposed crater
is Hellas, which is 2,300 kilometres (1,400 mi) wide and 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) deep,
and is a light albedo feature clearly visible from Earth.[174][175] There are other notable
impact features, such as Argyre, which is around 1,800 kilometres (1,100 mi) in
diameter,[176] and Isidis, which is around 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) in diameter.[177] Due to
the smaller mass and size of Mars, the probability of an object colliding with the planet
is about half that of Earth. Mars is located closer to the asteroid belt, so it has an
increased chance of being struck by materials from that source. Mars is more likely to
be struck by short-period comets, i.e., those that lie within the orbit of Jupiter.[178]
Martian craters can have a morphology that suggests the ground became wet after the
meteor impacted.[179]
Tectonic sites
Valles Marineris, taken by the Viking 1 probe

The large canyon, Valles Marineris (Latin for "Mariner Valleys", also known as


Agathodaemon in the old canal maps[180]), has a length of 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi)
and a depth of up to 7 kilometres (4.3 mi). The length of Valles Marineris is equivalent to
the length of Europe and extends across one-fifth the circumference of Mars. By
comparison, the Grand Canyon on Earth is only 446 kilometres (277 mi) long and nearly
2 kilometres (1.2 mi) deep. Valles Marineris was formed due to the swelling of the
Tharsis area, which caused the crust in the area of Valles Marineris to collapse. In
2012, it was proposed that Valles Marineris is not just a graben, but a plate boundary
where 150 kilometres (93 mi) of transverse motion has occurred, making Mars a planet
with possibly a two-tectonic plate arrangement.[181][182]
Holes and caves
Images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) aboard NASA's Mars
Odyssey orbiter have revealed seven possible cave entrances on the flanks of the
volcano Arsia Mons.[183] The caves, named after loved ones of their discoverers, are
collectively known as the "seven sisters".[184] Cave entrances measure from 100 to 252
metres (328 to 827 ft) wide and they are estimated to be at least 73 to 96 metres (240 to
315 ft) deep. Because light does not reach the floor of most of the caves, they may
extend much deeper than these lower estimates and widen below the surface. "Dena" is
the only exception; its floor is visible and was measured to be 130 metres (430 ft) deep.
The interiors of these caverns may be protected from micrometeoroids, UV
radiation, solar flares and high energy particles that bombard the planet's surface. [185][186]
Atmosphere
Main article: Atmosphere of Mars
Edge-on view of Mars atmosphere by Viking 1 probe

Mars lost its magnetosphere 4 billion years ago,[187] possibly because of numerous


asteroid strikes,[188] so the solar wind interacts directly with the Martian ionosphere,
lowering the atmospheric density by stripping away atoms from the outer layer.
[189]
 Both Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express have detected ionised atmospheric
particles trailing off into space behind Mars,[187][190] and this atmospheric loss is being
studied by the MAVEN orbiter. Compared to Earth, the atmosphere of Mars is quite
rarefied. Atmospheric pressure on the surface today ranges from a low of
30 Pa (0.0044 psi) on Olympus Mons to over 1,155 Pa (0.1675 psi) in Hellas Planitia,
with a mean pressure at the surface level of 600 Pa (0.087 psi).[191] The highest
atmospheric density on Mars is equal to that found 35 kilometres (22 mi)[192] above
Earth's surface. The resulting mean surface pressure is only 0.6% of Earth's 101.3 kPa
(14.69 psi). The scale height of the atmosphere is about 10.8 kilometres (6.7 mi),
[193]
 which is higher than Earth's 6 kilometres (3.7 mi), because the surface gravity of
Mars is only about 38% of Earth's.[194]
The atmosphere of Mars consists of about 96% carbon dioxide, 1.93% argon and
1.89% nitrogen along with traces of oxygen and water.[2][195][189] The atmosphere is quite
dusty, containing particulates about 1.5 µm in diameter which give the Martian sky
a tawny color when seen from the surface.[196] It may take on a pink hue due to iron
oxide particles suspended in it.[27] The concentration of methane in the Martian
atmosphere fluctuates from about 0.24 ppb during the northern winter to about 0.65 ppb
during the summer.[197] Estimates of its lifetime range from 0.6 to 4 years,[198][199] so its
presence indicates that an active source of the gas must be present. Methane could be
produced by non-biological process such as serpentinization involving water, carbon
dioxide, and the mineral olivine, which is known to be common on Mars, [200] or by Martian
life.[201]
Escaping atmosphere on Mars (carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen) by MAVEN in UV[202]

Compared to Earth, its higher concentration of atmospheric CO 2 and lower surface


pressure may be why sound is attenuated more on Mars, where natural sources are
rare apart from the wind. Using acoustic recordings collected by
the Perseverance rover, researchers concluded that the speed of sound there is
approximately 240 m/s for frequencies below 240 Hz, and 250 m/s for those above.[203][204]
Auroras have been detected on Mars.[205][206][207] Because Mars lacks a global magnetic
field, the types and distribution of auroras there differ from those on Earth; [208] rather than
being mostly restricted to polar regions as is the case on Earth, a Martian aurora can
encompass the planet.[209] In September 2017, NASA reported radiation levels on the
surface of the planet Mars were temporarily doubled, and were associated with
an aurora 25 times brighter than any observed earlier, due to a massive, and
unexpected, solar storm in the middle of the month.[209][210]
Climate
Main article: Climate of Mars

Detail of a Martian dust storm, as viewed from orbit

Mars without a dust storm in June 2001 (on left) and with a global dust storm in July 2001 (on right), as seen by
Mars Global Surveyor

Of all the planets in the Solar System, the seasons of Mars are the most Earth-like, due
to the similar tilts of the two planets' rotational axes. The lengths of the Martian seasons
are about twice those of Earth's because Mars's greater distance from the Sun leads to
the Martian year being about two Earth years long. Martian surface temperatures vary
from lows of about −110 °C (−166 °F) to highs of up to 35 °C (95 °F) in equatorial
summer.[17] The wide range in temperatures is due to the thin atmosphere which cannot
store much solar heat, the low atmospheric pressure, and the low thermal inertia of
Martian soil.[211] The planet is 1.52 times as far from the Sun as Earth, resulting in just
43% of the amount of sunlight.[212][213]
If Mars had an Earth-like orbit, its seasons would be similar to Earth's because its axial
tilt is similar to Earth's. The comparatively large eccentricity of the Martian orbit has a
significant effect. Mars is near perihelion when it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere
and winter in the north, and near aphelion when it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere
and summer in the north. As a result, the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are
more extreme and the seasons in the northern are milder than would otherwise be the
case. The summer temperatures in the south can be warmer than the equivalent
summer temperatures in the north by up to 30 °C (54 °F).[214]
Mars has the largest dust storms in the Solar System, reaching speeds of over
160 km/h (100 mph). These can vary from a storm over a small area, to gigantic storms
that cover the entire planet. They tend to occur when Mars is closest to the Sun, and
have been shown to increase the global temperature. [215]
Dust storms on Mars

18 November 2012

25 November 2012

6 June 2018[216]

29 September 2022
Locations of the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers are noted.

Orbit and rotation


Main article: Orbit of Mars
See also: Timekeeping on Mars

Orbit of Mars and other Inner Solar System planets

Mars's average distance from the Sun is roughly 230 million km (143 million mi), and its
orbital period is 687 (Earth) days. The solar day (or sol) on Mars is only slightly longer
than an Earth day: 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. [217] A Martian year is
equal to 1.8809 Earth years, or 1 year, 320 days, and 18.2 hours. [2]
The axial tilt of Mars is 25.19° relative to its orbital plane, which is similar to the axial tilt
of Earth.[2] As a result, Mars has seasons like Earth, though on Mars they are nearly
twice as long because its orbital period is that much longer. In the present day epoch,
the orientation of the north pole of Mars is close to the star Deneb.[20]
Mars has a relatively pronounced orbital eccentricity of about 0.09; of the seven other
planets in the Solar System, only Mercury has a larger orbital eccentricity. It is known
that in the past, Mars has had a much more circular orbit. At one point, 1.35 million
Earth years ago, Mars had an eccentricity of roughly 0.002, much less than that of Earth
today.[218] Mars's cycle of eccentricity is 96,000 Earth years compared to Earth's cycle of
100,000 years.[219]
Mars approaches Earth in a synodic period of 779.94 days. Earth orbits the Sun the
closest to Mars's orbit around the Sun, and Mars orbit is the second closest to Earth
after the orbit of Venus. Therefore, their closest approaches, the inferior conjunctions,
are the second closest for Earth after those with Venus, and the closest for Mars to any
other planet. The gravitational potential difference, and thus the delta-v
needed to transfer between Mars and Earth is the second lowest for Earth and the
lowest for Mars to any other planet, while transfers can possibly be optimized with
Venus flybys.[220][221]

Habitability and search for life


Main article: Life on Mars
Curiosity rover’s robotic arm showing drill in place, February 2013

During the late nineteenth century, it was widely accepted in the astronomical
community that Mars had life-supporting qualities, including the presence of oxygen and
water.[222] However, in 1894 W. W. Campbell at Lick Observatory observed the planet
and found that "if water vapor or oxygen occur in the atmosphere of Mars it is in
quantities too small to be detected by spectroscopes then available". [222] That observation
contradicted many of the measurements of the time and was not widely accepted.
[222]
 Campbell and V. M. Slipher repeated the study in 1909 using better instruments, but
with the same results. It wasn't until the findings were confirmed by W. S. Adams in
1925 that the myth of the Earth-like habitability of Mars was finally broken. [222] However,
even in the 1960s, articles were published on Martian biology, putting aside
explanations other than life for the seasonal changes on Mars. Detailed scenarios for
the metabolism and chemical cycles for a functional ecosystem were being published as
late as 1962.[223]
The current understanding of planetary habitability – the ability of a world to develop
environmental conditions favorable to the emergence of life – favors planets that have
liquid water on their surface. Most often this requires the orbit of a planet to lie within
the habitable zone, which for the Sun is estimated to extend from within the orbit of
Earth to about that of Mars.[224] During perihelion, Mars dips inside this region, but Mars's
thin (low-pressure) atmosphere prevents liquid water from existing over large regions for
extended periods. The past flow of liquid water demonstrates the planet's potential for
habitability. Recent evidence has suggested that any water on the Martian surface may
have been too salty and acidic to support regular terrestrial life. [225]
The environmental conditions on Mars are a challenge to sustaining organic life: the
planet has little heat transfer across its surface, it has poor insulation
against bombardment by the solar wind due to the absence of a magnetosphere and
has insufficient atmospheric pressure to retain water in a liquid form (water
instead sublimes to a gaseous state). Mars is nearly, or perhaps totally, geologically
dead; the end of volcanic activity has apparently stopped the recycling of chemicals and
minerals between the surface and interior of the planet. [226]
Scoop of Mars soil by Curiosity, October 2012

In situ investigations have been performed on Mars by


the Viking landers, Spirit and Opportunity rovers, Phoenix lander, and Curiosity rover.
Evidence suggests that the planet was once significantly more habitable than it is today,
but whether living organisms ever existed there remains unknown. The Viking probes of
the mid-1970s carried experiments designed to detect microorganisms in Martian soil at
their respective landing sites and had positive results, including a temporary increase
of CO2 production on exposure to water and nutrients. This sign of life was later
disputed by scientists, resulting in a continuing debate, with NASA scientist Gilbert
Levin asserting that Viking may have found life.[227] Tests conducted by the Phoenix
Mars lander have shown that the soil has an alkaline pH and it contains magnesium,
sodium, potassium and chloride.[228] The soil nutrients may be able to support life, but life
would still have to be shielded from the intense ultraviolet light. [229] A 2014 analysis of
Martian meteorite EETA79001 found chlorate, perchlorate, and nitrate ions in
sufficiently high concentration to suggest that they are widespread on Mars. UV and X-
ray radiation would turn chlorate and perchlorate ions into other,
highly reactive oxychlorines, indicating that any organic molecules would have to be
buried under the surface to survive. [230] Radiation levels on the surface are on average
0.64 millisieverts of radiation per day, and significantly less than the radiation of 1.84
millisieverts per day or 22 millirads per day during the flight to and from Mars. [231][232] For
comparison the radiation levels in Low Earth Orbit, where Earth's space stations orbit,
are around 0.5 millisieverts of radiation per day. [233] Hellas Planitia has the lowest surface
radiation at about 0.342 millisieverts per day, featuring lava tubes southwest
of Hadriacus Mons with potentially levels as low as 0.064 millisieverts per day. [234]

Estimated surface radiation dosage map in rem on a colour scale of 0.027 to 0.055 rem per day (a rem is
10 millisievert)

Scientists have proposed that carbonate globules found in meteorite ALH84001, which


is thought to have originated from Mars, could be fossilized microbes extant on Mars
when the meteorite was blasted from the Martian surface by a meteor strike some
15 million years ago. This proposal has been met with skepticism, and an exclusively
inorganic origin for the shapes has been proposed. [235] Small quantities
of methane and formaldehyde detected by Mars orbiters are both claimed to be possible
evidence for life, as these chemical compounds would quickly break down in the
Martian atmosphere.[236][237] Alternatively, these compounds may instead be replenished
by volcanic or other geological means, such as serpentinite.[200] Impact glass, formed by
the impact of meteors, which on Earth can preserve signs of life, has also been found
on the surface of the impact craters on Mars. [238][239] Likewise, the glass in impact craters
on Mars could have preserved signs of life, if life existed at the site. [240][241][242]

Moons
Main articles: Moons of Mars, Phobos (moon), and Deimos (moon)

Enhanced-color HiRISE image of Phobos, showing a series of mostly parallel grooves and crater chains,
with Stickney crater at right

Enhanced-color HiRISE image of Deimos (not to scale), showing its smooth blanket of regolith

Mars has two relatively small (compared to Earth's) natural moons, Phobos (about 22


kilometres (14 mi) in diameter) and Deimos (about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) in diameter),
which orbit close to the planet. The origin of both moons is unclear, although a popular
theory states that they were asteroids captured into Martian orbit. [243]
Both satellites were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall and were named after the
characters Phobos (the deity of panic and fear) and Deimos (the deity of terror and
dread), twins from Greek mythology who accompanied their father Ares, god of war, into
battle.[244] Mars was the Roman equivalent to Ares. In modern Greek, the planet retains
its ancient name Ares (Aris: Άρης).[171]
From the surface of Mars, the motions of Phobos and Deimos appear different from that
of the Earth's satellite, the Moon. Phobos rises in the west, sets in the east, and rises
again in just 11 hours. Deimos, being only just outside synchronous orbit – where the
orbital period would match the planet's period of rotation – rises as expected in the east,
but slowly. Because the orbit of Phobos is below synchronous altitude, tidal forces from
Mars are gradually lowering its orbit. In about 50 million years, it could either crash into
Mars's surface or break up into a ring structure around the planet. [245]
The origin of the two satellites is not well understood. Their low albedo
and carbonaceous chondrite composition have been regarded as similar to asteroids,
supporting a capture theory. The unstable orbit of Phobos would seem to point toward a
relatively recent capture. But both have circular orbits, near the equator that is unusual
for captured objects and the required capture dynamics are complex. Accretion early in
the history of Mars is plausible, but would not account for a composition resembling
asteroids rather than Mars itself, if that is confirmed. [246]
A third possibility for their origin as satellites of Mars is the involvement of a third body
or a type of impact disruption. More-recent lines of evidence for Phobos having a highly
porous interior,[247] and suggesting a composition containing mainly phyllosilicates and
other minerals known from Mars,[248] point toward an origin of Phobos from material
ejected by an impact on Mars that reaccreted in Martian orbit, similar to the prevailing
theory for the origin of Earth's satellite. Although the visible and near-infrared (VNIR)
spectra of the moons of Mars resemble those of outer-belt asteroids, the thermal
infrared spectra of Phobos are reported to be inconsistent with chondrites of any class.
[248]
 It is also possible that Phobos and Deimos are fragments of an older moon, formed
by debris from a large impact on Mars, and then destroyed by a more recent impact
upon the satellite.[249]
Mars may have yet-undiscovered moons, smaller than 50 to 100 metres (160 to 330 ft)
in diameter, and a dust ring is predicted to exist between Phobos and Deimos. [250]

Exploration
Main article: Exploration of Mars
(view • discuss)
 Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars, overlain with locations of Mars Lander and Rover
sites. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click
to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter
Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to
+8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down
to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.
(See also: Mars map; Mars Memorials map / list)

(   Active ROVER •   Inactive •   Active LANDER •   Inactive •   Future )

← Beagle 2 (2003)

Curiosity (2012) →

Deep Space 2 (1999) →

InSight (2018) →

Mars 2 (1971) →

← Mars 3 (1971)
Mars 6 (1973) →

Polar Lander (1999) ↓

↑ Opportunity (2004)

← Perseverance (2021)

← Phoenix (2008)

Schiaparelli  EDM (2016) →

← Sojourner (1997)

Spirit (2004) ↑

↓Zhurong (2021)

Viking 1 (1976) →

Viking 2 (1976) →

Dozens of crewless spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been sent


to Mars by the Soviet Union, the United States, Europe, India, the United Arab
Emirates, and China to study the planet's surface, climate, and geology.
[251]
 NASA's Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to visit Mars; launched on 28 November
1964, it made 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. [252]
Once spacecraft visited the planet during NASA's Mariner missions in the 1960s and
1970s, many previous concepts of Mars were radically broken. After the results of
the Viking life-detection experiments, the hypothesis of a dead planet was generally
accepted.[253] The data from Mariner 9 and Viking allowed better maps of Mars to be
made, and the Mars Global Surveyor mission, which launched in 1996 and operated
until late 2006, produced complete, extremely detailed maps of the Martian topography,
magnetic field and surface minerals. [254] These maps are available online at websites
including Google Mars. Both the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars
Express continued exploring with new instruments and supporting lander missions.
NASA provides two online tools: Mars Trek, which provides visualizations of the planet
using data from 50 years of exploration, and Experience Curiosity, which simulates
traveling on Mars in 3-D with Curiosity.[255][256]
Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, preparing for its first flight, April 2021

As of 2023, Mars is host to thirteen functioning spacecraft. Eight are in orbit: 2001 Mars


Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, ExoMars Trace Gas
Orbiter, the Hope orbiter, and the Tianwen-1 orbiter.[257][258] Another five are on the
surface: the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, the Perseverance rover,
the Ingenuity helicopter, the Tianwen-1 lander, and the Zhurong rover.[259]
Planned missions to Mars include the Rosalind Franklin rover mission, designed to
search for evidence of past life, which was intended to be launched in 2018 but has
been repeatedly delayed, with a launch date pushed to 2024 at the earliest, with a more
likely one sometime in 2028.[260][261][262] A current concept for a joint NASA-ESA mission
to return samples from Mars would launch in 2026.[263][264]
Several plans for a human mission to Mars have been proposed throughout the 20th
and 21st centuries, but none have come to fruition. The NASA Authorization Act of 2017
directed NASA to study the feasibility of a crewed Mars mission in the early 2030s; the
resulting report eventually concluded that this would be unfeasible. [265][266] In addition, in
2021, China was planning to send a crewed Mars mission in 2033. [267] Privately held
companies such as SpaceX have also proposed plans to send humans to Mars, with
the eventual goal to settle on the planet.[268] The moon Phobos has been proposed as an
anchor point for a space elevator.[269]
Astronomy on Mars
Main article: Astronomy on Mars
See also: Solar eclipses on Mars
Phobos transits the Sun, as viewed by the Perseverance rover on 2 April 2022

With the presence of various orbiters, landers, and rovers, it is possible to


practice astronomy from Mars. Although Mars's moon Phobos appears about one-third
the angular diameter of the full moon on Earth, Deimos appears more or less star-like,
looking only slightly brighter than Venus does from Earth. [270]
Various phenomena seen from Earth have also been observed from Mars, such
as meteors and auroras.[271] The apparent sizes of the moons Phobos and Deimos are
much smaller than that of the Sun; thus, their partial "eclipses" of the Sun are best
considered transits (see transit of Deimos and Phobos from Mars).[272][273] Transits of
Mercury and Venus have been observed from Mars. A transit of Earth will be seen from
Mars on 10 November 2084.[274]
Viewing

Mars seen through an 16-inch amateur telescope, at 2020 opposition

The mean apparent magnitude of Mars is +0.71 with a standard deviation of 1.05.


[16]
 Because the orbit of Mars is eccentric, the magnitude at opposition from the Sun can
range from about −3.0 to −1.4.[275] The minimum brightness is magnitude +1.86 when the
planet is near aphelion and in conjunction with the Sun.[16] At its brightest, Mars (along
with Jupiter) is second only to Venus in luminosity.[16] Mars usually appears distinctly
yellow, orange, or red. When farthest away from Earth, it is more than seven times
farther away than when it is closest. Mars is usually close enough for particularly good
viewing once or twice at 15-year or 17-year intervals. [276] As Mars approaches opposition,
it begins a period of retrograde motion, which means it will appear to move backwards
in a looping curve with respect to the background stars. This retrograde motion lasts for
about 72 days, and Mars reaches its peak luminosity in the middle of this interval. [277]
The point at which Mars's geocentric longitude is 180° different from the Sun's is known
as opposition, which is near the time of closest approach to Earth. The time of
opposition can occur as much as 8.5 days away from the closest approach. The
distance at close approach varies between about 54 and 103 million km (34 and
64 million mi) due to the planets' elliptical orbits, which causes comparable variation
in angular size.[278][279] The most recent Mars opposition occurred on 13 October 2020, at a
distance of about 63 million km (39 million mi).[280] The average time between the
successive oppositions of Mars, its synodic period, is 780 days; but the number of days
between the dates of successive oppositions can range from 764 to 812. [219]
Mars comes into opposition from Earth every 2.1 years. The planets come into
opposition near Mars's perihelion in 2003, 2018 and 2035, with the 2020 and 2033
events being particularly close to perihelic opposition. [29][281] Mars made its closest
approach to Earth and maximum apparent brightness in nearly 60,000 years,
55,758,006 km (0.37271925 AU; 34,646,419 mi), magnitude −2.88, on 27 August 2003,
at 09:51:13 UTC. This occurred when Mars was one day from opposition and about
three days from its perihelion, making it particularly easy to see from Earth. The last
time it came so close is estimated to have been on 12 September 57,617 BC, the next
time being in 2287.[282] This record approach was only slightly closer than other recent
close approaches.[219]
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.[283]

In culture
Main articles: Mars in culture and Mars in fiction
See also: Planets in astrology §  Mars

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, 1897, depicts an invasion of Earth by fictional Martians.

Mars is named after the Roman god of war. This association between Mars and war
dates back at least to Babylonian astronomy, in which the planet was named for the
god Nergal, deity of war and destruction.[284][285] It persisted into modern times, as
exemplified by Gustav Holst's orchestral suite The Planets, whose famous first
movement labels Mars "the bringer of war".[286] The planet's symbol, a circle with a spear
pointing out to the upper right, is also used as a symbol for the male gender. [287] The
symbol dates from at latest the 11th century, though a possible predecessor has been
found in the Greek Oxyrhynchus Papyri.[288]
The idea that Mars was populated by intelligent Martians became widespread in the late
19th century. Schiaparelli's "canali" observations combined with Percival Lowell's books
on the subject put forward the standard notion of a planet that was a drying, cooling,
dying world with ancient civilizations constructing irrigation works. [289] Many other
observations and proclamations by notable personalities added to what has been
termed "Mars Fever".[290] High-resolution mapping of the surface of Mars revealed no
artifacts of habitation, but pseudoscientific speculation about intelligent life on Mars still
continues. Reminiscent of the canali observations, these speculations are based on
small scale features perceived in the spacecraft images, such as "pyramids" and the
"Face on Mars".[291] In his book Cosmos, planetary astronomer Carl Sagan wrote: "Mars
has become a kind of mythic arena onto which we have projected our Earthly hopes
and fears."[51]
The depiction of Mars in fiction has been stimulated by its dramatic red color and by
nineteenth-century scientific speculations that its surface conditions might support not
just life but intelligent life.[292] This gave way to many science fiction stories involving
these concepts, such as H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, in which Martians seek to
escape their dying planet by invading Earth, Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, in
which human explorers accidentally destroy a Martian civilization, as well as Edgar Rice
Burroughs' Barsoom series, C. S. Lewis' novel Out of the Silent Planet (1938),[293] and a
number of Robert A. Heinlein stories before the mid-sixties.[294] Since then, depictions of
Martians have also extended to animation. A comic figure of an intelligent
Martian, Marvin the Martian, appeared in Haredevil Hare (1948) as a character in
the Looney Tunes animated cartoons of Warner Brothers, and has continued as part of
popular culture to the present.[295] After the Mariner and Viking spacecraft had returned
pictures of Mars as it really is, a lifeless and canal-less world, these ideas about Mars
were abandoned; for many science-fiction authors, the new discoveries initially seemed
like a constraint, but eventually the post-Viking knowledge of Mars became itself a
source of inspiration for works like Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy.[296]

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