Mars Topics of Interest
Atmosphere
Mars Crust
Mars Volcanism
WATER
The Poles
Aeolian Effects
Tectonics
Seasons on Mars
Valles Marineris
Oceans?
Mars Global View
Walsh Institute - Site II
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Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, with a mean orbital distance of 255 million kilometers. Mars is about one third the size of Earth with a diameter of 3,396 km and a mass of 6.42 E23rd. Mars has a weak magnetic field and no detectable radiation belt. Mars is a solid differentiated body whose fairly low average density - 3.4 grams per cubic centimeters - show that iron represents 25 per cent (by mass) of the compositions of the planet. The corresponding per cent on Earth is 33 percent. The planet is roughly divided into the highlands and the lowlands. The southern hemisphere is heavily cratered, the northern has volcanic areas and plains with light cratering. Differences in altitude on Mars are as high as 30 km. The highest area is the Tharsis plateau where giant volcanoes exits at altitudes of up to 6 km. This plateau extends over 4,000 miles north to south and 3,000 miles east to west. Planetary Overview Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Phobos rotates around Mars more rapidly that the planet spins. Because of tidal forces it is slowly spiraling in toward Mars, and will crash into it in about 30 millions years. [Cambridge p 158] Deimos orbits Mars almost synchronously and is almost undisturbed by tidal forces, unlike Phobos which experiences tidal forces. Phobos is about 27 km long, and Deimos is 15 km, both are irregularly shaped. This site has been created as a source for information about Mars in general and highlighting new science results for remote sensing.
