FIND IT TONIGHT · BANGKOK
Mars in numbers
- 0.53 × Earth
- Width
- 24 h 37 min
- One day
- 687 days
- One year
- 2
- Known moons
- 22 km
- Height of Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano we know of.
- 4,000 km
- Length of Valles Marineris, a canyon as long as the United States is wide.
- 24 h 37 m
- One day, almost the same as ours.
WORTH KNOWING
Red because it is rusty.
Iron oxide in the dust gives Mars its colour. Dust storms can grow big enough to wrap the whole planet.
Dry river valleys and old lake beds show that water once flowed there. Rovers are searching the rocks for signs of ancient life.
Who has been there
- 1965Mariner 4First close-up photos of another planet.
- 1976Viking 1First successful long-lived lander on Mars.
- 2012 →CuriosityCar-sized rover climbing Mount Sharp.
- 2021 →PerseveranceCollecting rock samples in Jezero Crater.