The red planet Mars caused on the one hand wild speculations, and on the other scientific interest as well. Neither the idea that he was the home of extraterrestrial visitors or a dying civilization, not that he could be a potential colony of the Earth in the future, have so far been confirmed by scientific expeditions .
We know that Mars, like the other “terrestrial” planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth) has a solid surface. The surface of Mars was shaped by volcanism, impacts and dislocations of the crust and atmospheric effects, such as sandstorms. He has polar caps of ice, which increase or decrease with the change of seasons. Areas with deposits near the polar caps suggest that the planet’s climate has changed more than once. This could possibly have been caused by changes in the planet’s orbit. The tectur of Mars – the formation and change in the planet’s crust – differs from Earth. On Earth, the continental plates are horizontal to the surface, where they move to each other or apart. On Mars, they are probably perpendicular, as hot lava pushes up from the core and cools on the way up. Periodically major storms appear all over Mars. The effects of these storms are dramatic: huge sand dunes, wind streaks and wind formations on the surface.
Scientists believe that Mars once had the largest water resources in the solar system 3.5 billion years ago. This water was collected in lakes and oceans. Where did this water come from, how long was it available and where did it disappear?
In May 2002, scientists discovered the key to this mystery: The spacecraft Mars Odyssey discovered huge deposits of ice near the surface – enough to fill the Lake Michigan twice. The water is about 1 m below the surface near the south pole of Mars .
Many questions remained unanswered. Today, Mars is too cold and its atmosphere too thin to allow liquid water to exist on the surface. More water exists in frozen state at the poles and in the form of ice clouds , but the amount of water that would be required to cover the surface of Mars is not available or not at the surface. Based on blank shots from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft scientists suggest that underground water reserves as sources could reach the surface. The answer probably lies deep below the red soil of Mars.
The solution to the puzzle about the water on Mars is important to understanding its climate history, which will help us to understand the origin of all the planets, including our own. Water also plays a central role in the origin of life. The availability of water on Mars in past and present times plays a crucial role, whether there has been life on Mars or as well as for the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. Before people can go to Mars safely, we need to learn more about the environment of the planet and the availability of water.
Mars has some remarkable geological features: the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons (27 km high, 600 km wide); Volcanic fields in the northern Tharsis, which are so great that they change the roundness of Mars; and a gigantic equatorial grave breach called Valles Marineris. This canyon system stretches over a distance comparable to the distance from New York to Los Angeles. The Grand Canyon in Arizona (USA) would easily fit into a small side canyon of this system.
Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. No one knows how they originated, probably they are asteroids which were captured by the attraction of Mars.
| Discovery date | unknown |
| Semi-major axis | 227 987 153 km = 2.279 x 108 km (1.524 AU) Comparison: 1.524 x Earth |
| Perihelion | 206 594 658 km = 2.065 x 108 km (1.381 AU) Comparison: 1.381 x Earth |
| Aphelion | 249 230 051 km = 2.492 x 108 km (1.666 AU) Comparison: 1.666 x Earth |
| Diameter | 6794 km = 6.794 x 103 km Comparison: 0.5326 x Earth |
| Circumference | 21 344 km = 2.1344 x 104 km |
| Volume | 163 140 000 000 km3 = 1.6314 x 1011 km3 Comparison: 0.150 x Earth |
| Mass | 641 850 000 000 000 000 000 000 kg = 6.4185 x 1023 kg Comparison: 0.10744 x Earth |
| Density | 3.94 g/cm3 Comparison: 0.713 x Earth |
| Surface area | 144 100 000 km2 = 1.441 x 108 km2 Comparison: 0.282 x Earth |
| Surface gravity | 3.693 m/s2 Comparison: Someone with 100 kg on Earth, would weigh 38 kg on Mars. |
| Escape velocity | 18 072 km/h = 5020 m/s Comparison: 0.449 x Earth |
| Sidereal rotation period | 1.026 Earth days 26.62 hours |
| Orbital period (Length of a year) |
1.8807 Earth years 686.93 Earth days |
| Average orbital speed | 86 871 km/h = 24 130.9 m/s Comparison: 0.810 x Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.0934 Comparison: 5.59 x Earth |
| Inclination | 1.8° |
| Axial tilt | 25.19° Comparison: 1.074 x Earth |
| Peripheral orbit | 1 366 900 000 km = 1.3669 x 109 km Comparison: 1.479 x Earth |
| Minimum/Maximum surface temperature |
-87/-5 °C = 186/268 K Comparison: The temperature of the Earth is ~ 185/331 K |
| Composition of the atmosphere |
Carbon dioxide (CO2), Nitrogen (N2), Argon (Ar) Comparison: The atmosphere of the Earth is mainly composed of N2 and O2. |
Moons: