Mars’ striking red color and prominent features have fascinated sky-watchers for centuries, and as telescope resolutions increased in the 19th century, our fascination with the planet grew. Since then, we’ve learned a lot more about this blood-red planet, so here are five facts you might not know.
5
Mars Is Earth-Like in Many Ways
All four rocky planets have standalone mountains, mountain ranges, or a combination of both, and they all have signs of past volcanic activity. Scientists believe Mercury’s volcanoes stopped erupting 3.5 billion years ago, while a 2024 analysis of data obtained during the Magellan mission during the late 1980s and early 1990s found that two volcanoes erupted on Venus around 1991.
Where Mars wins, however, is in the sheer size of its largest mountain and volcano, Olympus Mons. Although it hasn’t been active for millions of years, it stands proud as the tallest known volcano in the Solar System. Standing at around 14 miles high, it’s about two-and-a-half to three times the elevation of Mount Everest. It’s also about 400 miles across, a distance that would take you six to seven hours to travel at a speed of 60mph!
3
It Can Take Months for Dust From Storms to Settle
The images above, taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover, show just how murky Mars really gets during a storm. The image on the right was captured only three days after the image on the left, which shows how quickly visibility can drop in Mars’ thin atmosphere.
This murkiness is caused by strong winds whipping up the red dust from the rocks rich in iron oxides. Sometimes, the storms are strong enough to affect the whole planet, visibly changing how it appears from Earth through a telescope. This dust can sometimes take months to settle, re-sculpturing Mars’ landscape in the process.
When NASA sent the Opportunity rover on its Martian mission, they thought that thick layers of dust would quickly descend on the craft, covering up its solar panels and limiting its operational length to 90 Martian days. However, experts didn’t realize that the strong gusts from the powerful storms would clear the debris from the panels, contributing significantly to Opportunity’s extended 15-year life.
2
Mars Has Two Moons
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