Mars is popularly known as the Red Planet because of its rusty iron in its soil. The planet is the brightest and largest in contrast to other planets, making it the easiest to see from Earth.
This is probably because it is the closest planet to our world. Since Mars is one of the solar system’s most explored planets, many people have pondered its inhabitants.
Let’s find out more about Mars’s population as well as five other fascinating facts.
1. There are no people on Mars.
As you might have suspected, Mars is devoid of any known life. That response would change, though, if you include robots like rovers and landers. NASA has launched spacecraft to Mars to investigate and gather data.
Some individuals think that life once existed on Mars before it became uninhabitable and too cold. In reality, if this were the case, those living things probably brought about their own extinction by causing harmful changes in the environment.
2. The fourth planet from the sun is Mars.
Mercury, Venus, and Earth, in that order, are located between Mars and the Sun. Mercury is closest to the Sun. With 1.5 astronomical units separating it from the Sun, Mars is the planet with the greatest distance from the Sun that has a compact and rocky surface similar to Earth. That 142,000,000 miles (228,000,000 kilometers).
Due to its red hue, many people mistakenly believe that Mars is hot. However, as the fourth planet from the Sun, it is actually rather frigid, with a typical temperature of -85 degrees Fahrenheit, making it too cold for any known living entity to survive. The average temperature on Earth is 59 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Mars Has Two Moons
Yes, you read that right. According to researchers, Mars possesses two distinct moons that were likely captured asteroids. Phobos and Deimos, the names of the moons, orbit Mars at varying trajectories. They both have an asymmetrical shape, rather like a potato.
Deimos, the smaller moon, orbits Mars every 30 hours, whereas Phobos, the larger moon, is 7.8 miles in diameter and orbits Mars three times per day. Phobos is six feet closer to Mars than Phobos and is situated 6,000 kilometers above the planet. Deimos, on the other hand, is 23,458 kilometers from Earth.
4. Mars Is About Half the Size of Earth
Mars is roughly half the size of Earth, which has a radius of 3,958.8 miles, with a diameter of 2,106 miles (3,390 kilometers). NASA estimates that Earth’s moon is one-fourth the size of Earth, or roughly half the size of Mars.
5. You Would Weigh Less on Mars than You Do on Earth
NASA estimates that if you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would only weigh 38 pounds, or 38% of your weight, on Mars. This is due to Mars having less gravity than Earth.
F=Gmm/r2, where M is the mass of the planet, m is your mass, and r is the separation between you and the planet’s core, was developed by Sir Isaac Newton to calculate your weight. It makes natural that you would weigh less on Mars given that its mass is 11% lower than Earth’s.
Mars is not exactly spherical and has an equatorial diameter of 4,222 miles (6,794 km), making up around 15% of Earth’s volume. Mars has a diameter of 4,196 miles (6,752 km) from pole to pole, which is far smaller than the dimensions of Earth.
