58 Fascinating Facts About Mars That Every Student Should Know

Did you know that a day on Mars is longer than a day on Earth? Discover these facts and more as you venture into the galaxy and introduce your students to the fourth planet from the sun- Mars! Often referred to as the Red Planet, it’s covered in oxidized soil which gives it a vibrant appearance. Whether your kiddos are interested in learning more about its size, atmospheric composition, or more, we’ve got a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be surveyed!

1. Mars is often referred to as the “Red Planet” because of its reddish appearance, which is due to iron oxide (rust) on its surface.

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2. A day on Mars, also known as a “sol,” is about 24.6 hours— very close to a day on Earth.

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3. Mars takes about 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun, making a year on Mars almost twice as long as an Earth year.

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4. Despite being only the second smallest planet in the solar system, Mars has approximately the same land area as Earth because it doesn’t have oceans.

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5. Mars’ atmosphere is primarily composed of carbon dioxide (95.3%), with minor amounts of nitrogen (2.7%) and argon (1.6%).

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6. Mars has two moons named Phobos and Deimos. They were both discovered by Asaph Hall in August 1877.

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7. The gravity on Mars is only about 37% of Earth’s gravity. That means you could jump nearly three times higher on Mars!

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8. Mars can be very cold. The average temperature is about -80 degrees Fahrenheit, although it can vary from -195 degrees F near the poles during the winter to as much as 70 degrees F at midday near the equator.

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9. Mars is home to the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. It stands 13.6 miles (22 kilometers) high, which is nearly three times the height of Mount Everest.

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10. Mars has the longest canyon in the solar system, Valles Marineris. It extends over 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) and is up to 7 miles (11 kilometers) deep.

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11. Mars has polar ice caps made from water and carbon dioxide, just like Earth’s polar ice caps.

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12. As of now, there have been five successful Mars rovers: Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance, and the Chinese rover Zhurong.

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13. Mars has seasonal methane fluctuations, which is intriguing because on Earth, methane is typically produced by living things.

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14. Mars experiences the largest dust storms in the solar system, some encompassing the entire planet for months.

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15. Recent studies suggest that liquid water may flow intermittently on the planet’s surface. If confirmed, this would raise the possibility of microbial life existing on Mars in the past or even today.

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16. Much like Earth has earthquakes, Mars has “marsquakes.” NASA’s InSight lander has detected hundreds of them.

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17. Mars is incredibly dry, and liquid water cannot exist on the surface due to low atmospheric pressure, except at the lowest elevations for short periods.

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18. Mars has a very thin atmosphere which is not thick enough to trap the Sun’s heat like Earth does.

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19. Mars, like Earth, has a tilted axis. This means that it experiences seasons in much the same way as our planet.

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20. Martian soil contains nutrients found in Earth soil which would be suitable to grow plants.

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21. Images from orbiting spacecraft show features that may have been formed by flowing water in the past.

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22. Scientists believe that Mars was much warmer and wetter billions of years ago, and was suitable for microbial life.

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23. Mars is easily visible from Earth with the naked eye. Its apparent magnitude reaches as high as -2.94, which is surpassed only by Venus, the Moon, and the Sun.

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24. Mars is named after the Roman god of war, due to its red, blood-like color.

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25. Mars has a dense core composed of iron, nickel, and sulfur.

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26. After Mercury, Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system.

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27. The first successful mission to Mars was by NASA’s Mariner 4, which performed a flyby in 1965 and returned the first close-up pictures of the Martian surface.

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28. Mars has dust devils – whirlwinds carrying dust into the atmosphere, some reaching up to 10 kilometers in height.

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29. Mars is the most explored planet in the solar system (apart from Earth) with numerous missions sent by various space agencies.

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30. Some meteorites found on Earth have been confirmed to have come from Mars.

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31. NASA aims to send a crewed mission to Mars in the 2030s.

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32. Many Martian rocks are basalt, a type of volcanic rock.

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33. Mars’ surface is covered with iron-rich dust known as regolith. This dust has a rusty color, giving the planet its reddish appearance.

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34. Mars has extensive dune fields formed by wind activity, seen in regions such as Hellas Planitia and Noachis Terra.

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35. Sunsets on Mars are blue. The fine dust in the Martian atmosphere scatters blue light to the sky just as the Sun dips below the horizon.

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36. Mars has a dichotomy between its hemispheres, with the northern hemisphere being smoother and lower in elevation, while the southern hemisphere is higher and heavily cratered.

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37. The Northern Hemisphere of Mars is dominated by a feature known as the Borealis Basin, which covers 40% of the planet and maybe the remnant of a massive impact.

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38. Mars is home to the galaxy’s deepest, widest crater. The Hellas Basin is over 2,000 kilometers wide and 8 kilometers deep.

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39. The Mars Pathfinder mission and its Sojourner rover marked the first successful use of airbags to cushion the impact landing of a spacecraft (1997).

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40. Mars’ atmosphere has a minor component of helium.

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41. Mars is about twice the size of all the dwarf planets (like Pluto) in our solar system combined.

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42. Mars exhibits retrograde motion, moving backwards in relation to other planets in the Solar System.

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43. Winds in the thin atmosphere of Mars are not as strong as hurricanes on Earth, but they can reach up to 60 miles per hour at the surface.

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44. Mars has a region called Tharsis which contains 12 large volcanoes.

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45. Mars does not have a global magnetic field, but the planet is not without magnetism.

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46. Mars undergoes ice ages like Earth. However, its tilt changes much more than Earth’s, leading to more extreme climate changes.

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47. With a powerful telescope, Mars can be seen from Earth when it transits, or passes in front of, the Sun.

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48. Mars has a relatively low albedo, or reflection coefficient, which means it doesn’t reflect a lot of sunlight.

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49. Some cliffs on Mars rise up to 4 miles high, and the planet is home to the longest system of canyons in the solar system.

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50. Frost can be seen on Mars during the winter, when temperatures drop enough for carbon dioxide to condense.

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51. In 2021, NASA’s Ingenuity, a small robotic helicopter, made the first powered flight on another planet.

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52. The Mars rovers have to use unique landing techniques due to the thin Martian atmosphere, which provides less cushioning against the spacecraft’s rapid descent.

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53. Mars weather is more drastic than Earth’s. Temperatures can swing by as much as 100 degrees in a single day.

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54. The dust particles on Mars are extremely small, about the same size as the particles in cigarette smoke.

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55. Mars can experience a type of aurora known as a proton aurora. Unlike auroras on Earth, proton auroras on Mars happen during the day and emit ultraviolet light, making them invisible to the naked eye.