The Red Planet
Mars, otherwise known as the "red planet", is approximately 227,940,000 km from the sun (Arnett 2000). It has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are believed to have been asteroids captured by the planet's gravity (Sheehan 220). Mars is the 4th closest planet to the sun and it is the only other planet besides earth that at this time scientists believe could be inhabited by human life. Mars is in many ways like Earth. It has polar ice caps and is on almost the same tilted axis as earth. The similarity between the axis of Earth and Mars allow them to have similar seasons. There have been many unmanned space travel missions to Mars that have sent pictures, video, and information about the planet back to earth. An example would be the Surveyor 98 and the Mars Pathfinder (Exploring 2000). The future of exploration includes many more unmanned missions such as the Mars 2003 Rover Mission and 2001 Mars Odyssey. Mars is approximately 228,000,000 km from the Sun and is the first planet outside of Earth's orbit. It has a diameter is 6,794 km which is about one half of the diameter of Earth but is still the 7th largest planet in our solar system (Arnett 2000). Even though Mars is smaller than Earth in size, the
land surface area of the two planets is about the same. The gravity on Mars is much less than that of the Earth. Gravity on Mars is approximately two fifths of the gravity on Earth (Raeburn 128). The planet mars is millions of miles away from earth. However it is the one planet that could possibly sustain human life. Our futures will more than likely contain more Mars explorations. But only time can tell if life will survive on the red planet. The orbit of Mars is much like the orbit of Earth. Both are slightly tilted at nearly the same angle and direction. "This tilt gives Mars four seasons similar to Earth's. However, because a Martian year is about twice as long as an Earth year, each Martian season is also twice as long" (Raeburn 415). It takes 687 days for Mars to rotate completely around the Sun. Because Mars is much further from the sun than Earth, temperatures on Mars are colder. The average temperature of a summer day on Mars is about 27°C (80°F). However, at night temperatures can drop lower than -125°C (Arnett 2000). "Much of the Martian surface is very old and cratered, but there are also much younger rift valleys, ridges, hills, and plains" (Arnett 2000). The rock on Mars' surface is thick and strong. The northern hemisphere of Mars is much different than its southern hemisphere. "Mars' northern hemisphere is a smooth lowland plain of volcanic material, with a few craters" (Raeburn 416). This is where the largest known volcano, Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus), can be found. This gigantic shield volcano is approximately 25 kilometers high and 600 kilometers wide. However, unlike volcanoes on Earth, volcanoes on Mars do not affect plate motions. While the northern hemisphere is a smooth surface, "the southern hemisphere of Mars is predominately ancient cratered highlands somewhat similar to the Moon" (Arnett 2000). The Valles
Some common words found in the essay are:
Space Telescope, Solar System, Moon Mars, Earth Earth, Sun Mars, Mars Walls, Mount Olympus, Global Surveyor, Phobos Deimos, Hall American, arnett 2000, surface mars, mars earth, carbon dioxide, plate tectonics, 2000 mars, solar system, northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, below surface mars, human life, northern hemisphere smooth, arnett 2000 mars, mars global surveyor,
Approximate Word count = 1273
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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