Astronomy · Planets
Mars
The Red Planet, a cold desert world.
- Order from Sun
- Fourth planet
- Type
- Terrestrial (rocky) planet
- Color
- Reddish, from iron-oxide dust
- Moons
- Two small moons, Phobos and Deimos
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ. · NASA media (public domain)
Gallery
Mars Celebration
The Mars celebration Saturday, June 1, 2019, in Mars, Pennsylvania.
2019
NASA · NASA media (public domain)
The Red Planet
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, a cold desert world whose surface is colored red by iron-oxide ('rust') dust. It has a thin atmosphere, seasons, and polar caps of ice.
A dramatic landscape
Mars hosts towering volcanoes — including Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in the Solar System — and vast canyon systems. Channels carved long ago suggest liquid water once flowed there.
The most explored planet
Beyond Earth, Mars is the most intensively explored planet, with orbiters, landers, and rovers studying its geology and climate and searching for signs of past habitability. It has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Knowledge connections
How this connects across Asteria Star — scientific, cultural, and astrological links are kept separate.
Scientific connections
- Part ofSolar System
- Parent ofPhobos
- Parent ofDeimos
- Associated withSiding Spring
- Associated withViking 1 Lands on Mars
- Associated withMars Pathfinder and Sojourner
- Associated withCuriosity Lands on Mars
- Associated withIngenuity Makes the First Powered Flight on Another World
- Associated withFirst Successful Mars Landing
- Associated withFirst Rover on Another Planet
- Associated withFirst Powered Flight on Another World
- Associated withOxygen Production
- Associated withRegolith Processing
- Associated withPropellant Production
- Associated withSurface Fission Power
- Associated withSurface Biosignature
- Associated withChemical Biosignature
- Associated withGeological Biosignature
- Associated withLiquid Water
- Associated withForward Contamination
- Associated withCrust
- Associated withAtmospheric Escape
- Associated withClimate Evolution
- Associated withAtmospheric Circulation
+3 more
Observational connections
- Observed byGiovanni Cassini
Mission connections
- Target ofMars Science Laboratory
- TargetsViking 1
- TargetsMars Express
- TargetsMars 2020
- Landing site ofCuriosity
- Landing site ofPerseverance
- Landing site ofOpportunity
- Landing site ofSpirit
- Target ofViking 1
- Target ofViking 2
- Target ofMars Pathfinder
- Target ofMars Express
- Target ofSpirit (MER-A)
- Target ofOpportunity (MER-B)
- Target ofMAVEN
- Target ofMars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)
- Target ofInSight
- Target ofMars 2020
- Target ofTianwen-1
- Target ofEmirates Mars Mission (Hope)
Discovery connections
- Depicted inPerseverance on Mars — Jezero Crater
- Depicted inCuriosity on Mars — Gale Crater
Related
- Has featureIngenuity
- Has featureOlympus Mons
- Has featureValles Marineris
- Parent body ofNWA 7034
- Parent body ofALH 84001
- Parent body ofMartian Meteorites
- Affected bySolar Wind
- Affected byCosmic Rays
- Affected byGalactic Cosmic Rays (GCR)
- Has featureTharsis Montes
- Has featureHellas Planitia
- Has featureGale Crater
- Has featureJezero Crater
- Has featureKasei Valles
- Has featureOlympia Undae
Related entries
Related missions
Space mission
Emirates Mars Mission (Hope)
The Emirates Mars Mission, or Hope, is the United Arab Emirates' Mars orbiter, the Arab world's first interplanetary mission.
Space mission
InSight
InSight was a stationary lander that studied the deep interior of Mars with a seismometer.
Space mission
Mars 2020
Mars rover mission (Perseverance) · NASA · launched 2020.
Space mission
Mars Express
Mars orbiter · ESA · launched 2003.
Space mission
Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)
Mangalyaan made India the first nation to reach Mars orbit on its first attempt.
Space mission
Mars Pathfinder
Mars Pathfinder landed using airbags and deployed Sojourner, the first wheeled rover on Mars.
Space mission
Mars Science Laboratory
Mars Science Laboratory is the NASA mission that delivered the Curiosity rover to Mars in 2012 to investigate the planet's climate and geology.
Space mission
MAVEN
MAVEN studies how Mars lost much of its atmosphere to space over billions of years.
Space mission
Opportunity (MER-B)
Opportunity was the twin of Spirit, exploring Meridiani Planum for nearly 15 years.
Space mission
Spirit (MER-A)
Spirit was one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers, exploring Gusev crater.
Space mission
Tianwen-1
Tianwen-1 was China's first independent Mars mission, combining an orbiter, lander, and the Zhurong rover.
Space mission
Viking 1
Mars orbiter & lander · NASA · launched 1975.
Space mission
Viking 2
Viking 2 was the second Viking orbiter–lander pair, landing in Utopia Planitia on Mars.
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