Mars is the second smallest of the eight major planets in the Solar System. Only Mercury
is smaller. It is nearly 7,000 kilometres (km) wide; just over half the width of the Earth. Its
volume is about 15% of the Earth. Since a lot of the Earth is covered by water, the total
surface area of the Mars is nearly as large as all of the land on the Earth. It is possible
that its size may eventually prevent human colonies.

  • Mars is red because of rust in the surface rocks
  • A volcano on Mars called Olympus Mons is the highest mountain in our Solar
    System.
  • Mars has polar ice caps just like Earth.
  • Mars has ancient river beds where scientists think liquid water flowed millions or
    billions of years ago.
  • Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is called a terrestrial planet because it
    has a rocky surface like the Earth.
  • Some of the meteorites found on Earth are actually pieces of the planet Mars. As
    of June 2006, thirty-four "Martian meteorites" have been found.
  • One day on Earth is only 39 minutes and 35 seconds shorter than a day on Mars
    (1.026 Earth days). A year on Mars is almost two Earth years long (687 Earth
    days).


The surface of Mars is a lot like a desert on Earth; it is very dry and dusty, but it is also
very cold. There are a lot of loose rocks and dunes of fine sand. Crater impacts mark the
surface, but these are not as common as on the Moon. One of the craters is the huge
Hellas Planitia. It is about half the size of the continental United States. The southern half
of the planet has more craters than in the north. The south is also higher in elevation.

There is an area on Mars called the Tharsis Bulge, which has four huge volcanoes.
These volcanoes have not erupted for millions of years. The largest volcano is called
Olympus Mons. It is 27 km tall, making it the highest mountain in the Solar System;
much higher than Mount Everest on Earth. It is 625 km across and takes up an area as
big as the US state of Arizona. Mars also has a huge canyon called the Valles Marineris.
It is much bigger than the Grand Canyon on Earth. It is 4000 km long, up to 7 km deep
and up to 200 km wide. Scientists think that when the Tharsis Bulge was created, the
surface of Mars cracked to form the Valles Marineris.

Like the Earth, Mars has ice caps at its poles. They are made from ice and frozen carbon
dioxide. During the Martian winter, the southern cap grows as carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere freezes. The cap shrinks again during the Martian summer.

In some places, there are dry channels that look like they were made by running water.
So, a long time ago Mars may have had lakes and streams made of water. Now all of the
water is frozen into ice under the surface.

There is an atmosphere on Mars, but it is very thin. There is also much more carbon
dioxide in it than oxygen. (Oxygen is the gas we want when we breathe in; carbon dioxide
the gas we get rid of when we breathe out.) So, we would need spacesuits to visit Mars.
The atmosphere helps protect the surface from smaller meteorites.

When Mars comes closest to the Sun, the atmosphere can stir up storms of dust. Some
of these storms are gigantic; they can cover the entire planet in clouds of dust. Dust
storms on Mars can last for hundreds of days and reach wind speeds of 200 kilometres
per hour. Huge storms like these have been seen from the Earth through telescopes.

Like the Earth, Mars has a thick layer of rock below the crust called the mantle. The
mantle is much hotter than the crust, and the mantle rock is partly molten. But the crust
on Mars has grown thick, so the lava from the mantle no longer reaches the surface.
There are volcanoes on Mars, but they are no longer active.

At the centre of Mars is a core made of the metals iron and nickel. If Mars were the same
size as the Earth, the core of Mars would be smaller then the Earth's core. So a larger
amount of Mars is made out of rock. Because rock is lighter than the metals in the core,
Mars has a lower density than the Earth.

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Our Solar System
Mars
Our Solar System
This comprehensive book
contains information on all
major planets, major star
constellations, space
exploration and our solar
system. Included are fact
sheets, fast facts,
wordsearches, crossword
puzzles, Q's & A's, Student
Activity Sheets,
Teacher/parent resources
and tips, lesson plans and
crafts and activities.  Preview
entire book 208 pages
The Chinese lunar calendar dates back to the second millennium BC. The
Chinese calendar is cyclical. Each cycle is made up of 12 years; after the
12th year, the cycle is repeated.  This book contains comprehensive
teacher/parent resources, lesson plans and activities relating both to the
Chinese Zodiac and to the Chinese New Year. A Fun interactive learning
experience for Gr K-5  with a particular focus on adjectives,  characteristics
and traits.  Preview the entire book here