Mars is a mysterious red planet. What is Mars, characteristics of the planet

Atmospheric composition 95.72% Ang. gas
0.01% Nitric oxide

Mars- the fourth most distant planet from the Sun and the seventh largest planet in the solar system. This planet is named after Mars, the ancient Roman god of war, corresponding to the ancient Greek Ares. Mars is sometimes called the “Red Planet” because of the reddish hue of its surface given by iron(III) oxide.

Basic information

Due to low pressure, water cannot exist in a liquid state on the surface of Mars, but it is likely that conditions were different in the past, and therefore the presence of primitive life on the planet cannot be ruled out. On July 31, 2008, ice water was discovered on Mars by NASA's Phoenix spacecraft. "Phoenix") .

Currently (February 2009), the orbital exploration constellation in orbit around Mars has three operational spacecraft: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and this is more than around any other planet except Earth. The surface of Mars is currently being explored by two rovers: Spirit And Opportunity. There are also several inactive landers and rovers on the surface of Mars that have completed their missions. Geological data collected by all of these missions suggests that much of the surface of Mars was previously covered by water. Observations over the past decade have revealed weak geyser activity in some places on the surface of Mars. Based on observations from NASA spacecraft "Mars Global Surveyor", some parts of Mars' southern polar cap are gradually retreating.

Mars has two natural satellites, Phobos and Deimos (translated from ancient Greek as “fear” and “terror” - the names of the two sons of Ares who accompanied him in battle), which are relatively small and irregular in shape. They may be asteroids captured by the gravitational field of Mars, similar to asteroid 5261 Eureka from the Trojan group.

Mars can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. Its apparent magnitude reaches −2.91 m (at its closest approach to the Earth), second in brightness only to Jupiter, Venus, the Moon and the Sun.

Orbital characteristics

The minimum distance from Mars to Earth is 55.75 million km, the maximum is about 401 million km. The average distance from Mars to the Sun is 228 million. km (1.52 AU), the period of revolution around the Sun is 687 Earth days. The orbit of Mars has a fairly noticeable eccentricity (0.0934), so the distance to the Sun varies from 206.6 to 249.2 million km. The inclination of Mars' orbit is 1.85°.

The atmosphere consists of 95% carbon dioxide; it also contains 2.7% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, 0.13% oxygen, 0.1% water vapor, 0.07% carbon monoxide. The Martian ionosphere extends from 110 to 130 km above the planet's surface.

Based on observations from Earth and data from the Mars Express spacecraft, methane was discovered in the atmosphere of Mars. Under Mars conditions, this gas decomposes quite quickly, so there must be a constant source of replenishment. Such a source could be either geological activity (but no active volcanoes have been found on Mars) or the activity of bacteria.

The climate, like on Earth, is seasonal. During the cold season, even outside the polar caps, light frost can form on the surface. The Phoenix apparatus recorded snowfall, but the snowflakes evaporated before reaching the surface.

According to researchers from the Carl Sagan Center, Mars is currently undergoing a warming process. Other experts believe that it is too early to draw such conclusions.

Surface

Description of the main regions

Topographic map of Mars

Two-thirds of the surface of Mars is occupied by light areas called continents, about a third are dark areas called seas. The seas are concentrated mainly in the southern hemisphere of the planet, between 10 and 40° latitude. There are only two large seas in the northern hemisphere - Acidalia and Greater Syrtis.

The nature of the dark areas is still a matter of debate. They persist despite dust storms raging on Mars. This at one time served as an argument in favor of the fact that the dark areas are covered with vegetation. Now it is believed that these are simply areas from which, due to their topography, dust is easily blown away. Large-scale images show that the dark areas actually consist of groups of dark streaks and spots associated with craters, hills and other obstacles in the path of winds. Seasonal and long-term changes in their size and shape are apparently associated with a change in the ratio of surface areas covered with light and dark matter.

The hemispheres of Mars differ quite greatly in the nature of their surface. In the southern hemisphere, the surface is 1-2 km above average and is densely dotted with craters. This part of Mars resembles the lunar continents. In the north, the surface is mostly below average, there are few craters, and the bulk is occupied by relatively smooth plains, probably formed by lava flooding and erosion. This hemispheric difference remains a matter of debate. The boundary between the hemispheres follows approximately a great circle inclined 30° to the equator. The boundary is wide and irregular and forms a slope towards the north. Along it are the most eroded areas of the Martian surface.

Two alternative hypotheses have been put forward to explain hemispheric asymmetry. According to one of them, at an early geological stage, lithospheric plates “moved together” (perhaps accidentally) into one hemisphere (like the continent of Pangea on Earth) and then “froze” in this position. Another hypothesis suggests a collision of Mars with a cosmic body the size of Pluto.

The large number of craters in the southern hemisphere suggests that the surface here is ancient - 3-4 billion years ago. years. Several types of craters can be distinguished: large craters with a flat bottom, smaller and younger bowl-shaped craters similar to the Moon, craters surrounded by ridges, and elevated craters. The last two types are unique to Mars - rimmed craters formed where liquid ejecta flowed across the surface, and raised craters formed where a blanket of crater ejecta protected the surface from wind erosion. The largest feature of impact origin is the Hellas Basin (approximately 2100 km across).

In the area of ​​chaotic landscape near the hemispheric boundary, the surface experienced large areas of fracture and compression, sometimes followed by erosion (due to landslides or catastrophic release of groundwater), as well as flooding by liquid lava. Chaotic landscapes often lie at the head of large channels cut by water. The most acceptable hypothesis for their joint formation is the sudden melting of subsurface ice.

In the northern hemisphere, in addition to vast volcanic plains, there are two areas of large volcanoes - Tharsis and Elysium. Tharsis is a vast volcanic plain 2000 km long, reaching an altitude of 10 km above average. It contains three large shield volcanoes - Arsia, Pavonis (Peacock) and Askreus. On the edge of Tharsis is Mount Olympus, the highest on Mars and in the Solar System. Olympus reaches 27 km in height, and covers an area 550 km in diameter, surrounded by cliffs that in some places reach 7 km in height. The volume of Olympus is 10 times greater than the volume of the largest volcano on Earth, Mauna Kea. There are also several smaller volcanoes located here. Elysium is an elevation up to six kilometers above the average level, with three volcanoes - Hecate, Elysium and Albor.

"River" beds and other features

There is also a significant amount of water ice in the ground at the landing site.

Geology and internal structure

Unlike Earth, there is no movement of lithospheric plates on Mars. As a result, volcanoes can exist for a much longer time and reach gigantic sizes.

Phobos (top) and Deimos (bottom)

Current models of the internal structure of Mars suggest that Mars consists of a crust with an average thickness of 50 km (and a maximum thickness of up to 130 km), a silicate mantle with a thickness of 1800 km and a core with a radius of 1480 km. The density in the center of the planet should reach 8.5 /cm³. The core is partially liquid and consists mainly of iron with an admixture of 14-17% (by mass) sulfur, and the content of light elements is twice as high as in the Earth's core.

Moons of Mars

The natural satellites of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. Both of them were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877. Phobos and Deimos are irregular in shape and very small in size. According to one hypothesis, they may represent asteroids like 5261 Eureka from the Trojan group of asteroids captured by the gravitational field of Mars.

Astronomy on Mars

This section is a translation of the English Wikipedia article

After the landing of automatic vehicles on the surface of Mars, it became possible to conduct astronomical observations directly from the surface of the planet. Due to the astronomical position of Mars in the solar system, the characteristics of the atmosphere, the orbital period of Mars and its satellites, the picture of the night sky of Mars (and astronomical phenomena observed from the planet) differs from that on Earth and in many ways appears unusual and interesting.

Noon on Mars. Photo of the Pathfinder

Sunset on Mars. Photo of the Pathfinder

The color of the sky on Mars Earth and Moon Satellites - Phobos and Deimos

On a surface There are two rovers operating on the planet:

Planned missions

In culture

Books

• A. Bogdanov “Red Star”
• A. Kazantsev “Phaetians”
• A. Shalimov “The Price of Immortality”
• V. Mikhailov “Special need”
• V. Shitik “The Last Orbit”
• B. Lyapunov “We ​​are on Mars”
• G. Martynov “Starfarers” trilogy
• G. Wells “War of the Worlds”, a film of the same name in two film adaptations
• Simmons, Dan "Hyperion", tetralogy
• Stanislav Lem "Ananke"

Movies

• "Journey to Mars" USA, 1903
• "Journey to Mars" USA, 1910
• "Sky Ship" Denmark, 1917
• "Journey to Mars" Denmark, 1920
• "Journey to Mars" Italy, 1920
• "The Ship Sent to Mars" USA, 1921
• “Aelita” directed by Yakov Protazanov, USSR, 1924.
• "Journey to Mars" USA, 1924
• "To Mars" USA, 1930
• "Flash Gordon: Mars Attacks Earth" USA, 1938
• "Scrappy's Journey to Mars" USA, 1938
• "Rocket X-M" USA, 1950
• “Flight to Mars” USA, 1951
• “The Sky is Calling” directed by A. Kozyr and M. Karyukov, USSR, 1959.
• “Mars” documentary, director Pavel Klushantsev, USSR, 1968.
• “First on Mars. The unsung song of Sergei Korolev” documentary, 2007
• "Martian Odyssey"

Other

• In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, Mars is the capital world of the Adeptus Mechanicus organization, which supports the scientific and technological thought of the Imperium of Man.
• In the video game DOOM 3, the setting is the Red Planet.
• In the video game Red Faction 1.3, the setting is also the Red Planet.
• In the Mass Effect universe, a database of long-vanished aliens was found on the south pole of Mars, the decryption of which allowed people to enter the Galaxy.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the last of the terrestrial planets. Like the rest of the planets in the solar system (not counting Earth), it is named after the mythological figure - the Roman god of war. In addition to its official name, Mars is sometimes called the Red Planet, due to the brownish-red color of its surface. With all this, Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system after.

For almost the entire nineteenth century, it was believed that life existed on Mars. The reason for this belief is partly error and partly human imagination. In 1877, astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli was able to observe what he thought were straight lines on the surface of Mars. Like other astronomers, when he noticed these stripes, he assumed that such directness was associated with the existence of intelligent life on the planet. A popular theory at the time about the nature of these lines was that they were irrigation canals. However, with the development of more powerful telescopes in the early twentieth century, astronomers were able to see the Martian surface more clearly and determine that these straight lines were just an optical illusion. As a result, all earlier assumptions about life on Mars remained without evidence.

Much of the science fiction written during the twentieth century was a direct consequence of the belief that life existed on Mars. From small green men to towering invaders with laser weapons, Martians have been the focus of many television and radio programs, comic books, films and novels.

Despite the fact that the discovery of Martian life in the eighteenth century ultimately turned out to be false, Mars remained for scientific circles the most life-friendly planet (not counting Earth) in the solar system. Subsequent planetary missions were undoubtedly dedicated to the search for at least some form of life on Mars. Thus, a mission called Viking, carried out in the 1970s, conducted experiments on Martian soil in the hope of finding microorganisms in it. At that time, it was believed that the formation of compounds during experiments could be the result of biological agents, but it was later discovered that compounds of chemical elements could be created without biological processes.

However, even these data did not deprive scientists of hope. Having found no signs of life on the surface of Mars, they suggested that all the necessary conditions could exist below the surface of the planet. This version is still relevant today. At the very least, planetary missions of the present such as ExoMars and Mars Science involve testing all possible options for the existence of life on Mars in the past or present, on the surface and below it.

Atmosphere of Mars

The composition of the atmosphere of Mars is very similar to that of Mars, one of the least hospitable atmospheres in the entire solar system. The main component in both environments is carbon dioxide (95% for Mars, 97% for Venus), but there is a big difference - there is no greenhouse effect on Mars, so the temperature on the planet does not exceed 20°C, in contrast to 480°C on the surface of Venus . This huge difference is due to the different densities of the atmospheres of these planets. With comparable densities, Venus's atmosphere is extremely thick, while Mars has a rather thin atmosphere. Simply put, if the atmosphere of Mars were thicker, it would resemble Venus.

In addition, Mars has a very rarefied atmosphere - atmospheric pressure is only about 1% of the pressure on Earth. This is equivalent to a pressure of 35 kilometers above the Earth's surface.

One of the earliest directions in the study of the Martian atmosphere is its influence on the presence of water on the surface. Despite the fact that the polar caps contain solid water and the air contains water vapor resulting from frost and low pressure, all research today indicates that the “weak” atmosphere of Mars does not support the existence of liquid water on the surface planets.

However, based on the latest data from Mars missions, scientists are confident that liquid water exists on Mars and is located one meter below the surface of the planet.

Water on Mars: speculation / wikipedia.org

However, despite the thin atmospheric layer, Mars has weather conditions that are quite acceptable by terrestrial standards. The most extreme forms of this weather are winds, dust storms, frost and fog. As a result of such weather activity, significant signs of erosion have been observed in some areas of the Red Planet.

Another interesting point about the Martian atmosphere is that, according to several modern scientific studies, in the distant past it was dense enough for the existence of oceans of liquid water on the surface of the planet. However, according to the same studies, the atmosphere of Mars has been dramatically changed. The leading version of such a change at the moment is the hypothesis of a collision of the planet with another fairly voluminous cosmic body, which led to Mars losing most of its atmosphere.

The surface of Mars has two significant features, which, by an interesting coincidence, are associated with differences in the planet's hemispheres. The fact is that the northern hemisphere has a fairly smooth topography and only a few craters, while the southern hemisphere is literally dotted with hills and craters of different sizes. In addition to topographical differences, which indicate differences in the relief of the hemispheres, there are also geological ones - studies indicate that areas in the northern hemisphere are much more active than in the southern.

On the surface of Mars is the largest known volcano, Olympus Mons, and the largest known canyon, Mariner. Nothing more grandiose has yet been found in the Solar System. The height of Mount Olympus is 25 kilometers (that's three times higher than Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth), and the diameter of the base is 600 kilometers. The length of the Valles Marineris is 4000 kilometers, the width is 200 kilometers, and the depth is almost 7 kilometers.

The most significant discovery about the Martian surface to date has been the discovery of canals. The peculiarity of these channels is that, according to NASA experts, they were created by flowing water, and thus are the most reliable evidence of the theory that in the distant past the surface of Mars was significantly similar to the earth's.

The most famous peridolium associated with the surface of the Red Planet is the so-called “Face on Mars”. The terrain actually closely resembled a human face when the first image of the area was taken by the Viking I spacecraft in 1976. Many people at the time considered this image to be real proof that intelligent life existed on Mars. Subsequent photographs showed that this was just a trick of lighting and human imagination.

Like other terrestrial planets, the interior of Mars has three layers: crust, mantle and core.
Although precise measurements have not yet been made, scientists have made certain predictions about the thickness of the crust of Mars based on data on the depth of Valles Marineris. The deep, extensive valley system located in the southern hemisphere could not exist unless the crust of Mars was significantly thicker than that of Earth. Preliminary estimates indicate that the thickness of Mars' crust in the northern hemisphere is about 35 kilometers and about 80 kilometers in the southern hemisphere.

Quite a lot of research has been devoted to the core of Mars, in particular to determining whether it is solid or liquid. Some theories have pointed to the absence of a strong enough magnetic field as a sign of a solid core. However, in the last decade, the hypothesis that the core of Mars is at least partially liquid has gained increasing popularity. This was indicated by the discovery of magnetized rocks on the planet's surface, which may be a sign that Mars has or had a liquid core.

Orbit and rotation

The orbit of Mars is remarkable for three reasons. Firstly, its eccentricity is the second largest among all the planets, only Mercury has less. With such an elliptical orbit, Mars' perihelion is 2.07 x 108 kilometers, which is much further than its aphelion of 2.49 x 108 kilometers.

Secondly, scientific evidence suggests that such a high degree of eccentricity was not always present, and may have been less than Earth's at some point in the history of Mars. Scientists say the reason for this change is the gravitational forces of neighboring planets acting on Mars.

Thirdly, of all the terrestrial planets, Mars is the only one on which the year lasts longer than on Earth. This is naturally related to its orbital distance from the Sun. One Martian year is equal to almost 686 Earth days. A Martian day lasts approximately 24 hours and 40 minutes, which is the time it takes for the planet to complete one full revolution around its axis.

Another notable similarity between the planet and Earth is its axial tilt, which is approximately 25°. This feature indicates that the seasons on the Red Planet follow each other in exactly the same way as on Earth. However, the hemispheres of Mars experience completely different temperature regimes for each season, different from those on Earth. This is again due to the much greater eccentricity of the planet’s orbit.

SpaceX And ​​plans to colonize Mars

So we know that SpaceX wants to send people to Mars in 2024, but their first Mars mission will be the Red Dragon capsule in 2018. What steps is the company going to take to achieve this goal?

• 2018 Launch of the Red Dragon space probe to demonstrate technology. The goal of the mission is to reach Mars and do some survey work at the landing site on a small scale. Perhaps supplying additional information to NASA or space agencies of other countries.
• 2020 Launch of the Mars Colonial Transporter MCT1 spacecraft (unmanned). The purpose of the mission is to send cargo and return samples. Large-scale demonstrations of technology for habitat, life support, and energy.
• 2022 Launch of the Mars Colonial Transporter MCT2 spacecraft (unmanned). Second iteration of MCT. At this time, MCT1 will be on its way back to Earth, carrying Martian samples. MCT2 is supplying equipment for the first manned flight. MCT2 will be ready for launch once the crew arrives on the Red Planet in 2 years. In case of trouble (as in the movie “The Martian”) the team will be able to use it to leave the planet.
• 2024 Third iteration of Mars Colonial Transporter MCT3 and first manned flight. At that point, all technologies will have proven their functionality, MCT1 will have traveled to Mars and back, and MCT2 will be ready and tested on Mars.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the last of the terrestrial planets. The distance from the Sun is about 227940000 kilometers.

The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. To the ancient Greeks he was known as Ares. It is believed that Mars received this association due to the blood-red color of the planet. Thanks to its color, the planet was also known to other ancient cultures. Early Chinese astronomers called Mars the “Star of Fire,” and ancient Egyptian priests referred to it as “Ee Desher,” meaning “red.”

The land masses on Mars and Earth are very similar. Despite the fact that Mars occupies only 15% of the volume and 10% of the mass of the Earth, it has a comparable land mass to our planet as a consequence of the fact that water covers about 70% of the Earth's surface. At the same time, the surface gravity of Mars is about 37% of the gravity on Earth. This means that you could theoretically jump three times higher on Mars than on Earth.

Only 16 of 39 missions to Mars were successful. Since the Mars 1960A mission launched by the USSR in 1960, a total of 39 landers and rovers have been sent to Mars, but only 16 of these missions have been successful. In 2016, a probe was launched as part of the Russian-European ExoMars mission, the main goals of which will be to search for signs of life on Mars, study the surface and topography of the planet, and map potential environmental hazards for future manned missions to Mars.

Debris from Mars has been found on Earth. It is believed that traces of some of the Martian atmosphere were found in meteorites that bounced off the planet. After leaving Mars, these meteorites for a long time, for millions of years, flew around the solar system among other objects and space debris, but were captured by the gravity of our planet, fell into its atmosphere and crashed to the surface. The study of these materials allowed scientists to learn a lot about Mars even before space flights began.

In the recent past, people were sure that Mars was home to intelligent life. This was largely influenced by the discovery of straight lines and grooves on the surface of the Red Planet by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. He believed that such straight lines could not be created by nature and were the result of intelligent activity. However, it was later proven that this was nothing more than an optical illusion.

The highest planetary mountain known in the solar system is on Mars. It is called Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus) and rises 21 kilometers in height. It is believed that this is a volcano that was formed billions of years ago. Scientists have found quite a lot of evidence that the age of the object's volcanic lava is quite young, which may be evidence that Olympus may still be active. However, there is a mountain in the solar system to which Olympus is inferior in height - this is the central peak of Rheasilvia, located on the asteroid Vesta, whose height is 22 kilometers.

Dust storms occur on Mars - the most extensive in the solar system. This is due to the elliptical shape of the planet's orbit around the Sun. The orbital path is more elongated than many other planets and this oval orbital shape results in ferocious dust storms that cover the entire planet and can last for many months.

The Sun appears to be about half its visual Earth size when viewed from Mars. When Mars is closest to the Sun in its orbit, and its southern hemisphere faces the Sun, the planet experiences a very short but incredibly hot summer. At the same time, a short but cold winter sets in in the northern hemisphere. When the planet is farther from the Sun, and the northern hemisphere points towards it, Mars experiences a long and mild summer. In the southern hemisphere, a long winter sets in.

With the exception of Earth, scientists consider Mars the most suitable planet for life. Leading space agencies are planning a series of space missions over the next decade to find out whether there is potential for life on Mars and whether it is possible to build a colony on it.

Martians and aliens from Mars have been the leading candidates for extraterrestrials for quite a long time, making Mars one of the most popular planets in the solar system.

Mars is the only planet in the system, other than Earth, that has polar ice. Solid water has been discovered beneath the polar caps of Mars.

Just like on Earth, Mars has seasons, but they last twice as long. This is because Mars is tilted on its axis at about 25.19 degrees, which is close to Earth's axial tilt (22.5 degrees).

Mars has no magnetic field. Some scientists believe that it existed on the planet about 4 billion years ago.

The two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, were described in the book Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. This was 151 years before they were discovered.

Mars is the fourth planet in our solar system and the second smallest after Mercury. Named after the ancient Roman god of war. Its nickname "Red Planet" comes from the reddish hue of the surface, which is due to the predominance of iron oxide. Every few years, when Mars is in opposition to Earth, it is most visible in the night sky. For this reason, people have observed the planet for many millennia, and its appearance in the sky has played a large role in the mythology and astrological systems of many cultures. In the modern era, it has become a treasure trove of scientific discoveries that have expanded our understanding of the solar system and its history.

Size, orbit and mass of Mars

The radius of the fourth planet from the Sun is about 3396 km at the equator and 3376 km in the polar regions, which corresponds to 53% And although it is about half as large, the mass of Mars is 6.4185 x 10²³ kg, or 15.1% of the mass of our planet. The axis tilt is similar to that of Earth and is equal to 25.19° to the orbital plane. This means that the fourth planet from the Sun also experiences the change of seasons.

At its greatest distance from the Sun, Mars orbits at a distance of 1.666 AU. e., or 249.2 million km. At perihelion, when it is closest to our star, it is 1.3814 AU away from it. e., or 206.7 million km. The Red Planet takes 686,971 Earth days, equivalent to 1.88 Earth years, to orbit the Sun. In Martian days, which on Earth are equal to one day and 40 minutes, a year lasts 668.5991 days.

Soil composition

With an average density of 3.93 g/cm³, this characteristic of Mars makes it less dense than Earth. Its volume is about 15% of the volume of our planet, and its mass is 11%. Red Mars is a consequence of the presence of iron oxide on the surface, better known as rust. The presence of other minerals in the dust ensures the presence of other shades - gold, brown, green, etc.

This terrestrial planet is rich in minerals containing silicon and oxygen, metals and other substances that are usually found in rocky planets. The soil is slightly alkaline and contains magnesium, sodium, potassium and chlorine. Experiments conducted on soil samples also show that its pH is 7.7.

Although liquid water cannot exist on it due to its thin atmosphere, large concentrations of ice are concentrated within the polar ice caps. In addition, the permafrost belt extends from the pole to 60° latitude. This means that water exists beneath most of the surface as a mixture of its solid and liquid states. Radar data and soil samples confirmed the presence also in mid-latitudes.

Internal structure

The 4.5 billion-year-old planet Mars consists of a dense metallic core surrounded by a silicon mantle. The core is made of iron sulfide and contains twice as many light elements as the Earth's core. The average thickness of the crust is about 50 km, the maximum is 125 km. If we take into account that the earth's crust, the average thickness of which is 40 km, is 3 times thinner than the Martian crust.

Current models of its internal structure suggest that the core has a radius size of 1700-1850 km and is composed primarily of iron and nickel with approximately 16-17% sulfur. Due to its smaller size and mass, the gravity on the surface of Mars is only 37.6% that of Earth. here it is 3.711 m/s², compared to 9.8 m/s² on our planet.

Surface characteristics

Red Mars is dusty and dry from above, and geologically it closely resembles Earth. It has plains and mountain ranges, and even the largest sand dunes in the solar system. The highest mountain, the Olympus shield volcano, and the longest and deepest canyon, the Valles Marineris, are also located here.

Impact craters are typical elements of the landscape that dot the planet Mars. Their age is estimated at billions of years. Due to the slow rate of erosion, they are well preserved. The largest of them is the Hellas Valley. The circumference of the crater is about 2300 km, and its depth reaches 9 km.

Gullies and channels can also be discerned on the surface of Mars, and many scientists believe that water once flowed through them. Comparing them with similar formations on Earth, it can be assumed that they were at least partially formed by water erosion. These canals are quite large - 100 km wide and 2 thousand km long.

Moons of Mars

Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. They were discovered in 1877 by astronomer Asaph Hall and bear the names of mythical characters. Following the tradition of taking their names from classical mythology, Phobos and Deimos are the sons of Ares, the Greek god of war who was the prototype of the Roman Mars. The first of them personifies fear, and the second - confusion and horror.

Phobos is about 22 km in diameter, and the distance to Mars from it is 9234.42 km at perigee and 9517.58 km at apogee. This is below synchronous altitude, and the satellite takes only 7 hours to orbit the planet. Scientists estimate that in 10-50 million years, Phobos may fall to the surface of Mars or disintegrate into a ring structure around it.

Deimos has a diameter of about 12 km, and its distance to Mars is 23455.5 km at perigee and 23470.9 km at apogee. The satellite makes a full revolution in 1.26 days. Mars may also have additional satellites, the sizes of which are less than 50-100 m in diameter, and there is a ring of dust between Phobos and Deimos.

According to scientists, these moons were once asteroids, but then they were captured by the planet's gravity. The low albedo and composition of both moons (carbonaceous chondrite), which is similar to asteroid material, support this theory, and Phobos' unstable orbit would seem to suggest a recent capture. However, both moons' orbits are circular and in the plane of the equator, which is unusual for captured bodies.

Atmosphere and climate

The weather on Mars is due to the presence of a very thin atmosphere, which consists of 96% carbon dioxide, 1.93% argon and 1.89% nitrogen, as well as traces of oxygen and water. It is very dusty and contains particulate matter measuring 1.5 microns in diameter, which turns the Martian sky dark yellow when viewed from the surface. Atmospheric pressure varies between 0.4-0.87 kPa. This is equivalent to about 1% of the Earth's at sea level.

Due to the thin layer of gaseous shell and greater distance from the Sun, the surface of Mars warms up much worse than the surface of the Earth. On average it is -46 °C. In winter it drops to -143 °C at the poles, and in summer at noon at the equator it reaches 35 °C.

Dust storms are raging on the planet, which turn into small tornadoes. More powerful hurricanes occur when dust rises and is heated by the Sun. The winds intensify, creating storms whose scales are measured in thousands of kilometers and their duration is several months. They effectively hide almost the entire surface area of ​​Mars from view.

Traces of methane and ammonia

Traces of methane were also found in the planet's atmosphere, the concentration of which is 30 parts per billion. It is estimated that Mars should produce 270 tons of methane per year. Once released into the atmosphere, this gas can only exist for a limited period of time (0.6-4 years). Its presence, despite its short lifetime, indicates that an active source must exist.

Possible possibilities include volcanic activity, comets, and the presence of methanogenic microbial life forms beneath the planet's surface. Methane can be produced through non-biological processes called serpentinization, involving water, carbon dioxide and olivine, which is common on Mars.

Express also detected ammonia, but with a relatively short lifetime. It is not clear what produces it, but volcanic activity has been suggested as a possible source.

Planet exploration

Attempts to find out what Mars is began in the 1960s. Between 1960 and 1969, the Soviet Union launched 9 unmanned spacecraft to the Red Planet, but all of them failed to reach their target. In 1964, NASA began launching Mariner probes. The first were Mariner 3 and Mariner 4. The first mission failed during deployment, but the second, launched 3 weeks later, successfully completed the 7.5-month journey.

Mariner 4 took the first close-up images of Mars (showing impact craters) and provided precise data on atmospheric pressure at the surface and noted the absence of a magnetic field and radiation belt. NASA continued the program with another pair of flyby probes, Mariner 6 and 7, which reached the planet in 1969.

In the 1970s, the USSR and the United States competed to see who would be the first to launch an artificial satellite into orbit around Mars. The Soviet M-71 program included three spacecraft - Kosmos-419 (Mars-1971C), Mars-2 and Mars-3. The first heavy probe crashed during launch. The subsequent missions, Mars 2 and Mars 3, were a combination of an orbiter and a lander and became the first extraterrestrial landings (other than the Moon).

They were successfully launched in mid-May 1971 and flew from Earth to Mars for seven months. On November 27, the Mars-2 lander made an emergency landing due to an onboard computer failure and became the first man-made object to reach the surface of the Red Planet. On December 2, Mars 3 made a routine landing, but its transmission was interrupted after 14.5 seconds of broadcast.

Meanwhile, NASA continued the Mariner program, and Probes 8 and 9 were launched in 1971. Mariner 8 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean during launch. But the second spacecraft not only reached Mars, but also became the first to be successfully launched into its orbit. While the planet-scale dust storm lasted, the satellite managed to take several photographs of Phobos. As the storm subsided, the probe captured images that provided more detailed evidence that water once flowed on the surface of Mars. A feature called the Snows of Olympus (one of the few objects that remained visible during the planetary dust storm) was determined to also be the tallest feature in the solar system, leading to its renaming as Mount Olympus.

In 1973, the Soviet Union sent four more probes: the 4th and 5th Mars orbiters, and the orbiters and landers Mars 6 and 7. All interplanetary stations except Mars 7 transmitted data , and the Mars-5 expedition turned out to be the most successful. Before the transmitter housing depressurized, the station managed to transmit 60 images.

By 1975, NASA had launched Viking 1 and 2, consisting of two orbiters and two landers. The mission to Mars was aimed at searching for traces of life and observing its meteorological, seismic and magnetic characteristics. Results from biological experiments aboard the Viking landers were inconclusive, but a reanalysis of the data published in 2012 suggested evidence of microbial life on the planet.

Orbiters have provided additional evidence that water once existed on Mars - large floods created deep canyons thousands of kilometers long. Additionally, areas of braided streams in the southern hemisphere suggest that precipitation once occurred there.

Resumption of flights

The fourth planet from the sun was not explored until the 1990s, when NASA sent the Mars Pathfinder mission, which consisted of a spacecraft that landed a station with the traveling Sojourner probe. The device landed on Mars on July 4, 1987 and became proof of the viability of technologies that would be used in future expeditions, such as air-cushion landing and automatic obstacle avoidance.

The next mission to Mars, the MGS mapping satellite, reached the planet on September 12, 1997, and began operations in March 1999. Over the course of one full Martian year, from a low altitude in almost polar orbit, it studied the entire surface and atmosphere and sent back more data about the planet than all previous missions combined.

On November 5, 2006, MGS lost contact with Earth and NASA's efforts to restore it were terminated on January 28, 2007.

In 2001, the Mars Odyssey Orbiter was sent to find out what Mars is. Its goal was to search for evidence of water and volcanic activity on the planet using spectrometers and thermal imagers. In 2002, it was announced that the probe had detected large quantities of hydrogen - evidence of the existence of huge deposits of ice in the top three meters of soil within 60° of the south pole.

On June 2, 2003, Mars Express was launched, a spacecraft consisting of a satellite and the Beagle 2 lander. It entered orbit on December 25, 2003, and the probe entered the planet's atmosphere on the same day. Before ESA lost contact with the lander, Mars Express Orbiter confirmed the presence of ice and carbon dioxide at the south pole.

In 2003, NASA began exploring the planet under the MER program. It used two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The mission to Mars had the task of examining various rocks and soils in order to find evidence of the presence of water.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was launched on 08/12/05 and reached the planet's orbit on 03/10/06. The spacecraft carries scientific instruments designed to detect water, ice and minerals on and below the surface. In addition, MRO will support future generations of space probes by daily monitoring Mars' weather and surface conditions, searching for future landing sites, and testing a new telecommunications system that will speed up communications with Earth.

On August 6, 2012, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory MSL and the Curiosity rover landed in Gale Crater. With their help, many discoveries were made regarding local atmospheric and surface conditions, and organic particles were also discovered.

On November 18, 2013, in another attempt to find out what Mars is, the MAVEN satellite was launched, the purpose of which is to study the atmosphere and relay signals from robotic rovers.

Research continues

The fourth planet from the Sun is the most studied in the solar system after Earth. Currently, the Opportunity and Curiosity stations operate on its surface, and 5 spacecraft operate in orbit - Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, MRO, MOM and Maven.

These probes were able to transmit incredibly detailed images of the Red Planet. They helped discover that there was once water there, and confirmed that Mars and Earth are very similar - they have polar caps, seasons, an atmosphere and the presence of water. They also showed that organic life can exist today and most likely existed in the past.

Humanity's obsession with discovering what Mars is continues unabated, and our efforts to study its surface and unravel its history are far from over. In the coming decades, we will likely continue to send rovers there and will send a man there for the first time. And over time, given the availability of the necessary resources, the fourth planet from the Sun will one day become habitable.

And the seventh largest:

Orbital distance from the Sun: 227,940,000 km (1.52 AU)

Diameter: 6794 km

Mars has been known since prehistoric times. The planet has been carefully studied using ground-based observatories.

The first spacecraft to visit Mars was Mariner 4 (USA) in 1965. Others followed, such as Mars 2 (USSR), the first spacecraft to land on Mars, followed by two Viking spacecraft (USA) with landers in 1976.

This was followed by a 20-year break in spacecraft launches to Mars, and on July 4, 1997, the Mars Pathfinder successfully landed

In 2004, the Opportunity rover landed on Mars, conducted geological research and sent many images back to Earth.

In 2008, the Phoenix spacecraft landed on the northern plains of Mars to search for water.

Then three orbital stations were sent into Mars orbitMars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey and Mars Express, which are currently in operation.

The MSL Curiosity (CIF) spacecraft successfully landed on Mars on August 6, 2012. The landing was broadcast live on the NASA website. The device landed in a given area - in the Gale crater.
The Mars rover "Curiosity" (from the English "curiosity", "curiosity") was launched on November 26, 2011. It is the largest robotic vehicle in the entire history of Mars exploration - its mass is more than 900 kilograms.
One of the main tasks of Curiosity is to analyze the chemical composition of soil on the surface and at shallow depths. Its analytical instruments include a quadrupole mass spectrometer, gas chromatograph and X-ray spectrometers. In addition, it is equipped with the Russian-made DAN neutron detector, designed to search for ice under the surface of the planet.

The orbit of Mars is elliptical. This significantly affects the temperature with a difference of 30 C , from the side of the Sun, measured at the aphelion of the orbit and perihelion. This has a big impact on the climate of Mars. While the average temperature on Mars is about -55 C, the surface temperature of Mars ranges from -133 C at the winter pole to almost 27 C at the day side during the summer.

Even though Mars is much smaller than Earth, its area is approximately the same as Earth's land surface area.

Mars has one of the most diverse and interesting terrains of any planet:

Mount Olympus : The largest mountain in the solar system, its height is 24 km above the surrounding plain. The foot of the mountain is 500 km in diameter and is framed by cliffs 6 km high.

Tarsis: A huge bulge on the surface of Mars, measuring about 4000 km across and 10 km high.

Valles Marineris: a system of canyons 4000 km long and from 2 to 7 km deep;

Plain of Hellas: a meteorite crater in the southern hemisphere more than 6 km deep and 2000 km in diameter.

Much of the surface of Mars is covered with very old craters, but there are also much younger rift valleys, ridges, hills and plains.

The southern hemisphere is covered with craters, much like the Moon. The Northern Hemisphere consists of plains that are much younger, smaller in height, and have a much more complex history. A sharp change in altitude of several kilometers occurs at the border of the hemispheres. The reasons for this global dichotomy and the presence of sharp boundaries are unknown.

A cross-section of the planet looks something like this: the crust in the southern hemisphere is about 80 km and about 30 km in the northern hemisphere, the core is very dense, about 1700 km in radius.

The relatively low density of Mars compared to other terrestrial planets indicates that its core may contain a relatively large proportion of sulfur and iron (iron and iron sulfide).

Mars, like Mercury and the Moon, has no currently active tectonic strata and no signs of recent horizontal surface movement. On Earth, evidence of this movement are folded mountains.

There are currently no signs of ongoing volcanic activity. However, data from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft indicate that Mars very likely had tectonic activity at some point in the past.

There is very clear evidence of erosion in many places on Mars, including large floods and small river systems. In the past, there was some kind of liquid on the surface of the planet.

There may have been seas and even oceans on Mars; the Mars Global Surveyor has provided very clear images of a layered soil system. It is rather caused by the presence of fluid in the past. The age of channel erosion is estimated to be approximately 4 billion years.

Mars Express in early 2005 sent back images of a dry sea that had been filled with liquid as recently as perhaps 5 million years ago.

Early in its history, Mars was much more like Earth. As on Earth, almost all of the carbon dioxide was used to form carbonate rocks.

Mars has a very thin atmosphere, consisting mainly of small amounts of remaining carbon dioxide (95.3%), nitrogen (2.7%), argon (1.6%), traces of oxygen (0.15%), water (0 .03%).

The average surface pressure on Mars is only about 7 millibars (less than 1% of the pressure on Earth), but it varies greatly with altitude. So, 9 millibars in the deepest depressions and 1 millibar at the top of Mount Olympus.

However, Mars experiences very strong winds and huge dust storms that sometimes cover the entire planet for months at a time.

Telescopic observations have shown that Mars has permanent caps at both poles, visible even with a small telescope. They consist of water ice and solid carbon dioxide ("dry ice"). Ice caps have a layered structure with alternating layers of ice and varying concentrations of dark dust.

The Viking spacecraft (USA) carried out studies from landers to determine the existence of life on Mars. The results have been somewhat mixed, but most scientists now believe they have no evidence of life on Mars. Optimists point out that only two tiny soil samples have been analyzed, and not from the most favorable locations.

Large, but not global, weak magnetic fields exist in various regions of Mars. This unexpected discovery was made by the Mars Global Surveyor a few days after it entered Mars orbit. These may be remnants of a previously global magnetic field.

If there was a magnetic field on Mars, then the existence of life on it becomes more likely.

Characteristics of Mars:

Weight (10 24 kg): 0.64185

Volume (10 10 km cubic): 16,318

Equatorial radius: 3397 km

Polar radius: 3375 km

Volumetric average radius: 3390 km

Average density: 3933 kg/m 3

Radius: 1700 km

Gravity (ed.) (m/s): 3.71

Gravity acceleration (ed.) (m/s): 3.69

Second escape velocity (km/s): 5.03

Albedo: 0.250

Visual albedo: 0.150

Solar Energy (W/m 2 ): 589,2

Black body temperature (k): 210.1

Number of natural satellites: 2

Mars orbital parameters

Semi-major axis (distance from the Sun) (106 km): 227.92

Sidereal orbital period (days): 686.98

Tropical orbital period (days): 686.973

Perihelion (106 km): 206.62

Aphelion (106 km): 249.23

Synodic period (days): 779.94

Maximum orbital speed (km/s): 26.5

Minimum orbital speed (km/s): 21.97

Orbital inclination (degrees): 1,850

Period of rotation around its axis (hours): 24.6229

Daylight hours (hours): 24.6597

Axle Tilt (degrees): 25.19

Minimum distance to Earth (106 km): 55.7

Maximum distance to Earth (106 km): 401.3

Atmospheric parameters

Surface pressure (bar): 6.36 mb (varies from 4 to 8.7 mb depending on meson)

Density of the atmosphere near the surface (kg/m3): 0.020

Atmospheric altitude (km): 11.1

Average temperature (k): - 55 C

Temperature range: -133С - +27С

Basic parameters of Mars satellites

Mars– the fourth planet of the solar system: map of Mars, interesting facts, satellites, size, mass, distance from the Sun, name, orbit, research with photos.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the most similar to Earth in the solar system. We also know our neighbor by its second name – “Red Planet”. It received its name in honor of the Roman god of war. The reason is its red color, created by iron oxide. Every few years, the planet is closest to us and can be found in the night sky.

Its periodic appearance has led to the planet being featured in many myths and legends. And the external threatening appearance became the cause of fear of the planet. Let's find out more interesting facts about Mars.

Interesting facts about the planet Mars

Mars and Earth are similar in surface massiveness

• The Red Planet covers only 15% of the Earth's volume, but 2/3 of our planet is covered in water. Martian gravity is 37% of Earth's, which means your jump will be three times higher.

Has the highest mountain in the system

• Mount Olympus (the highest in the solar system) stretches 21 km and covers 600 km in diameter. It took billions of years to form, but lava flows hint that the volcano may still be active.

Only 18 missions were successful

• There have been approximately 40 space missions to Mars, including flybys, orbital probes, and rover landings. Among the latter were Curiosity (2012), MAVEN (2014) and the Indian Mangalyaan (2014). Also arriving in 2016 were ExoMars and InSight.

Largest dust storms

• These weather disasters can go on for months and cover the entire planet. The seasons become extreme because the elliptical orbital path is extremely elongated. At the nearest point in the southern hemisphere, a short but hot summer begins, and the northern hemisphere plunges into winter. Then they change places.

Martian debris on Earth

• Researchers were able to find small traces of the Martian atmosphere in the meteorites that arrived to us. They floated in space for millions of years before reaching us. This helped to conduct a preliminary study of the planet before the launch of the devices.

The name comes from the god of war in Rome

• In Ancient Greece they used the name Ares, who was responsible for all military actions. The Romans copied almost everything from the Greeks, so they used Mars as their analogue. This trend was inspired by the bloody color of the object. For example, in China the Red Planet was called a “fiery star”. Formed due to iron oxide.

There are hints of liquid water

• Scientists are convinced that for a long time the planet Mars had water in the form of ice deposits. The first signs are dark stripes or spots on the crater walls and rocks. Given the Martian atmosphere, the liquid must be salty so as not to freeze and evaporate.

We are waiting for the ring to appear

• In the next 20-40 million years, Phobos will come dangerously close and be torn apart by planetary gravity. Its fragments will form a ring around Mars that can last up to hundreds of millions of years.

Size, mass and orbit of the planet Mars

The equatorial radius of the planet Mars is 3396 km, and the polar radius is 3376 km (0.53 Earth radius). Before us is literally half the size of the Earth, but the mass is 6.4185 x 10 23 kg (0.151 of the Earth’s). The planet resembles ours in its axial inclination – 25.19°, which means that seasonality can also be noted on it.

Physical characteristics of Mars

Equatorial	3396.2 km
Polar radius	3376.2 km
Average radius	3389.5 km
Surface area	1.4437⋅10 8 km² 0.283 earth
Volume	1.6318⋅10 11 km³ 0.151 Earth
Weight	6.4171⋅10 23 kg 0.107 earth
Average density	3.933 g/cm³ 0.714 earth
Acceleration free falls at the equator	3.711 m/s² 0.378 g
First escape velocity	3.55 km/s
Second escape velocity	5.03 km/s
Equatorial speed rotation	868.22 km/h
Rotation period	24 hours 37 minutes 22.663 seconds
Axis tilt	25.1919°
Right ascension north pole	317.681°
North pole declination	52.887°
Albedo	0.250 (Bond) 0.150 (geom.)
Apparent magnitude	−2.91 m

The maximum distance from Mars to the Sun (aphelion) is 249.2 million km, and the proximity (perihelion) is 206.7 million km. This leads to the fact that the planet spends 1.88 years on its orbital passage.

Composition and surface of the planet Mars

With a density of 3.93 g/cm3, Mars is inferior to Earth and has only 15% of our volume. We have already mentioned that the red color is due to the presence of iron oxide (rust). But due to the presence of other minerals, it comes in brown, gold, green, etc. Study the structure of Mars in the bottom picture.

Mars is a terrestrial planet, which means it has a high level of minerals containing oxygen, silicon and metals. The soil is slightly alkaline and contains magnesium, potassium, sodium and chlorine.

In such conditions, the surface cannot boast of water. But a thin layer of the Martian atmosphere allowed ice to remain in the polar regions. And you can see that these hats cover a decent territory. There is also a hypothesis about the presence of underground water at mid-latitudes.

The structure of Mars contains a dense metallic core with a silicate mantle. It is represented by iron sulfide and is twice as rich in light elements as the earth's. The crust extends for 50-125 km.

The core covers 1700-1850 km and is represented by iron, nickel and 16-17% sulfur. Small size and mass mean that gravity reaches only 37.6% of Earth's. An object on the surface will fall with an acceleration of 3.711 m/s 2 .

It is worth noting that the Martian landscape is desert-like. The surface is dusty and dry. There are mountain ranges, plains and the largest sand dunes in the system. Mars also boasts the largest mountain, Olympus, and the deepest abyss, Valles Marineris.

In the photographs you can see many crater formations that have been preserved due to the slowness of erosion. Hellas Planitia is the largest crater on the planet, covering a width of 2300 km and a depth of 9 km.

The planet can boast of ravines and canals through which water could previously flow. Some stretch 2000 km long and 100 km wide.

Moons of Mars

Two of its moons revolve near Mars: Phobos and Deimos. In 1877, they were discovered by Asaph Hall, who named them after characters from Greek mythology. These are the sons of the god of war Ares: Phobos - fear, and Deimos - horror. Martian satellites are shown in the photo.

The diameter of Phobos is 22 km, and the distance is 9234.42 – 9517.58 km. It takes 7 hours for an orbital passage, and this time is gradually decreasing. Researchers believe that in 10-50 million years the satellite will crash into Mars or will be destroyed by the planet’s gravity and form a ring structure.

Deimos has a diameter of 12 km and rotates at a distance of 23455.5 – 23470.9 km. The orbital route takes 1.26 days. Mars may also have additional moons with a width of 50-100 m, and a dust ring can form between two large ones.

It is believed that previously the satellites of Mars were ordinary asteroids that succumbed to planetary gravity. But they exhibit circular orbits, which is unusual for captured bodies. They could also have formed from material torn from the planet at the beginning of creation. But then their composition should have resembled that of a planet. A strong impact could also occur, repeating the scenario with our Moon.

Atmosphere and temperature of the planet Mars

The Red Planet has a thin atmospheric layer, which is represented by carbon dioxide (96%), argon (1.93%), nitrogen (1.89%) and admixtures of oxygen and water. It contains a lot of dust, the size of which reaches 1.5 micrometers. Pressure – 0.4-0.87 kPa.

The long distance from the Sun to the planet and the thin atmosphere mean that Mars has a low temperature. It fluctuates between -46°C to -143°C in winter and can warm up to 35°C in summer at the poles and at midday at the equatorial line.

Mars is characterized by the activity of dust storms that can simulate mini-tornadoes. They form due to solar heating, where warmer air currents rise and form storms that extend for thousands of kilometers.

When analyzed, traces of methane with a concentration of 30 parts per million were also found in the atmosphere. This means that he was released from specific territories.

Research shows that the planet is capable of creating up to 270 tons of methane per year. It reaches the atmospheric layer and persists for 0.6-4 years until complete destruction. Even a small presence indicates that a gas source is hidden on the planet. The bottom figure indicates the concentration of methane on Mars.

Speculations included hints at volcanic activity, comet impacts, or the presence of microorganisms beneath the surface. Methane can also be created in a non-biological process - serpentinization. It contains water, carbon dioxide and the mineral olivine.

In 2012, we carried out several calculations on methane using the Curiosity rover. If the first analysis showed a certain amount of methane in the atmosphere, then the second showed 0. But in 2014, the rover encountered a 10-fold spike, which indicates a localized release.

The satellites also detected the presence of ammonia, but its decomposition period is much shorter. Possible source: volcanic activity.

Dissipation of planetary atmospheres

Astrophysicist Valery Shematovich on the evolution of planetary atmospheres, exoplanetary systems and the loss of the atmosphere of Mars:

History of the study of the planet Mars

Earthlings have been watching their red neighbor for a long time, because the planet Mars can be found without the use of instruments. The first records were made in Ancient Egypt in 1534 BC. e. They were already familiar with the retrograde effect. True, for them, Mars was a bizarre star, whose movement was different from the rest.

Even before the advent of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (539 BC), regular records of planetary positions were made. People noted changes in movement, brightness levels, and even tried to predict where they would go.

In the 4th century BC. Aristotle noticed that Mars hid behind the earth's satellite during the period of occlusion, which indicated that the planet was located further than the Moon.

Ptolemy decided to create a model of the entire Universe in order to understand planetary motion. He suggested that there are spheres inside the planets that guarantee retrograde. It is known that the ancient Chinese also knew about the planet back in the 4th century BC. e. The diameter was estimated by Indian researchers in the 5th century BC. e.

Ptolemy's model (geocentric system) created many problems, but it remained dominant until the 16th century, when Copernicus came with his scheme where the Sun was located at the center (heliocentric system). His ideas were reinforced by Galileo Galilei's observations with his new telescope. All this helped to calculate the daily parallax of Mars and the distance to it.

In 1672, the first measurements were made by Giovanni Cassini, but his equipment was weak. In the 17th century, parallax was used by Tycho Brahe, after which it was corrected by Johannes Kepler. The first map of Mars was presented by Christiaan Huygens.

In the 19th century, it was possible to increase the resolution of instruments and examine the features of the Martian surface. Thanks to this, Giovanni Schiaparelli created the first detailed map of the Red Planet in 1877. It also displayed channels - long straight lines. Later they realized that this was just an optical illusion.

The map inspired Percival Lowell to create an observatory with two powerful telescopes (30 and 45 cm). He wrote many articles and books on the subject of Mars. The canals and seasonal changes (shrinking polar ice caps) brought to mind thoughts of Martians. And even in the 1960s. continued to write research on this topic.

Exploration of the planet Mars

More advanced exploration of Mars began with the exploration of space and the launch of vehicles to other solar planets in the system. Space probes began to be sent to the planet at the end of the 20th century. It was with their help that we were able to get acquainted with an alien world and expand our understanding of the planets. And although we were unable to find Martians, life could have existed there before.

Active study of the planet began in the 1960s. The USSR sent 9 unmanned probes that never made it to Mars. In 1964, NASA launched Mariner 3 and 4. The first failed, but the second arrived at the planet 7 months later.

Mariner 4 was able to obtain the first large-scale photographs of an alien world and transmitted information about atmospheric pressure, the absence of a magnetic field and a radiation belt. In 1969, Mariners 6 and 7 arrived at the planet.

In 1970, a new race began between the USA and the USSR: who would be the first to install a satellite in Martian orbit. The USSR used three spacecraft: Cosmos-419, Mars-2 and Mars-3. The first one failed during launch. The other two were launched in 1971, and they took 7 months to arrive. Mars 2 crashed, but Mars 3 landed softly and became the first to succeed. But the transmission lasted only 14.5 seconds.

In 1971, the United States sent Mariner 8 and 9. The first fell into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, but the second successfully gained a foothold in Martian orbit. Together with Mars 2 and 3, they found themselves in a period of Martian storm. When it ended, Mariner 9 took several images hinting at liquid water that may have been observed in the past.

In 1973, four more devices were sent from the USSR, where all, except Mars-7, delivered useful information. The biggest benefit was from Mars-5, which sent 60 images. The US Viking mission began in 1975. These were two orbitals and two landers. They had to track biosignals and study seismic, meteorological and magnetic characteristics.

The Viking survey showed that there was once water on Mars, because large-scale floods could carve deep valleys and erode depressions in the rock. Mars remained a mystery until the 1990s, when Mars Pathfinder launched with a spacecraft and probe. The mission landed in 1987 and tested a huge amount of technology.

In 1999, Mars Global Surveyor arrived, tracking Mars in a near-polar orbit. He studied the surface for almost two years. We managed to capture ravines and garbage flows. The sensors showed that the magnetic field is not created in the core, but is partially present in areas of the cortex. It was also possible to create the first 3D views of the polar cap. We lost contact in 2006.

Mars Odysseus arrived in 2001. He had to use spectrometers to detect evidence of life. In 2002, huge hydrogen reserves were discovered. In 2003, the Mars Express arrived with a probe. Beagle 2 entered the atmosphere and confirmed the presence of water and carbon dioxide ice at the south pole.

In 2003, the famous rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed, which studied rocks and soil. MRO reached orbit in 2006. Its instruments are configured to search for water, ice and minerals at/below the surface.

MRO studies Martian weather and surface characteristics daily to find the best landing sites. The Curiosity rover landed in Gale Crater in 2012. His instruments are important because they reveal the planet's past. In 2014, MAVEN began studying the atmosphere. In 2014, Mangalyan arrived from the Indian ISRO

In 2016, active study of the internal composition and early geological evolution began. In 2018, Roscosmos plans to send its device, and in 2020 the United Arab Emirates will join.

Government and private space agencies are serious about crewed missions in the future. By 2030, NASA expects to send the first Martian astronauts.

In 2010, Barack Obama insisted on making Mars a priority target. ESA plans to send humans in 2030-2035. There are a couple of non-profit organizations that are going to send small missions with a crew of up to 4 people. Moreover, they receive money from sponsors who dream of turning the trip into a live show.

Global activities were launched by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. He has already managed to make an incredible breakthrough - a reusable launch system that saves time and money. The first flight to Mars is planned for 2022. We are already talking about colonization.

Mars is considered the most studied alien planet in the solar system. Rovers and probes continue to explore its features, each time offering new information. It was possible to confirm that the Earth and the Red Planet converge in characteristics: polar glaciers, seasonal fluctuations, an atmospheric layer, running water. And there is evidence that previously there could have been life there. So we keep going back to Mars, which is likely to be the first planet to be colonized.

Scientists have still not lost hope of finding life on Mars, even if it is primitive remains and not living organisms. Thanks to telescopes and spacecraft, we always have the opportunity to admire Mars online. On the site you will find a lot of useful information, high-quality high-resolution photos of Mars and interesting facts about the planet. You can always use a 3D model of the Solar System to follow the appearance, characteristics and orbital motion of all known celestial bodies, including the Red Planet. Below is a detailed map of Mars.

Click on the image to enlarge it