Why NASA is interested in Mars: 5 incredible facts about the planet

Mars is a small red planet located between the Earth and Jupiter. UAportal has prepared 5 most interesting facts about it.

The planet's rotation

Mars is the fourth planet of the Solar System, located on average at a distance of 228 million kilometers from the Sun. It has a more elongated orbit than the Earth. The eccentricity of Mars' rotation around the Sun is more than 40 million.

Satellites

Mars is accompanied by two small natural satellites – Phobos and Demos. Their sizes are 26 and 13 km, respectively.

Temperature

The temperature on the surface of Mars ranges from -128 °C to +20 °C at the equator at noon. Due to the very thin atmosphere and weak magnetic field, solar radiation penetrates freely from the planet's surface. Therefore, the existence of even the simplest life forms on the surface of Mars is unlikely.

Why it is red

Dust covers almost the entire surface of Mars. Iron oxide gives the planet its red color. In addition, there may be a fairly large amount of water on Mars. Dried riverbeds and glaciers have been found on the surface.

Days on Mars

The Martian year is almost twice as long as the Earth's and is 780 days. But the day on the Red Planet is almost the same as on ours – 24 hours and 37 minutes.

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