50 Fascinating Facts About Mars To Share With Kids – WeAreTeachers

Its fun to imagine what exists out there beyond our world. The vastness of space feels full of possibility and mystery. Theres still so much that we dont know about our solar system, but what we do know is absolutely fascinating. Weve put together this list of fun facts about Mars, the only planet other than Earth that might sustain life, to share with students in the classroom.

This is one of the most popular facts about Mars! Its soil is rich in iron, which is why the surface and atmosphere look red.

The planets red color is reminiscent of blood.

Its diameter is 4,222 miles.

Only Mercury is smaller.

Its also much, much smaller than the sun. If the sun is about the size of a front door, Mars is the size of an aspirin in comparison!

Mars was formed when gravity pulled in swirling gas and dust.

Its not a gas planet like Saturn or Jupiter. The surface of Mars is hard and rocky, which means you can walk on it.

Its far from the sun and any source of heat, so while the average temperature on Mars is around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, it can be as cold as 284F at its poles.

According to NASA, Regolith is dust and broken rock, and collecting it requires a different approach than collecting rock cores.

The moons, named Phobos and Deimos, are both smaller than Earths moon.

They are made up of dry ice, or solid carbon dioxide.

The days on Mars last 37 minutes longer than on Earth.

Not only are they the largest in the solar system, but they can cover the whole planet, reach speeds of 125 miles per hour, and last for months!

A collision between Mars and its moon, Phobos, has been predicted, but if it happens, it wont be for another 50 million years!

Since it takes longer for Earth to orbit around the sun, a year on Mars is the same as 687 Earth days (which is almost double!).

The gravity on Mars is only 38% of that on Earth!

The red planet is home to Olympus Mons which is three times taller than Mount Everest.

You dont need binoculars or a telescope to find it!

While they are longer than those on Earth, Mars also has seasons. They vary in duration, though, since Mars takes an oval orbit around the sun.

Spring lasts for 194 days on Mars.

Autumn lasts just 142 days.

There are an incredible 43,000 craters on the planet with a diameter of 3.1 miles or greater. No wonder some say it looks like Swiss cheese!

Its located in Mars southern hemisphere and is over 3.7 miles deep and 1.24 miles across.

The Valles Marineris is 2,500 miles long and 4 miles deep. Our Grand Canyon is much smaller at just 226 miles long and 1 mile deep. Wow!

Thats because it has less gravity pulling you down.

The lack of gravity can cause a loss of calcium.

Based on what the Mars rovers have shown us, there arent a lot of craters in the northern hemisphere.

There, youll also find highlands, the Hellas Planitia crater, and the Valles Marineris canyon.

While Earth is much bigger, its covered with a lot of water.

Humans would need to wear a spacesuit with oxygen to go outside.

They touched down on the red planets surface in 1976.

After it landed in 1997, the Spirit and Opportunity touched down in 2004.

NASA is hoping to do its first human mission by the 2030s.

Incredibly, its just about 100 times thinner than Earths atmosphere.

Many speculate that the channels were created by running water.

A layer of carbon dioxide frost forms on the planets surface.

The environment makes it difficult if not impossible for liquid to remain on the surface.

It consists of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon.

Even NASA has described Deimos and Phobos as raggedy.

NASAs Curiosity rover discovered evidence of liquid water under polar caps, which is a possible sign that life once existed on Mars.

Some debris from the planet landed on Earth as meteorites.

His observation took place in 1610.

Since its farther away, the sun would look half the size of how we see it on Earth.

Unfortunately, only 18 were successful.

No wonder it gets so frosty on the surface!

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.

NASAs Mariner 4 captured 22 groundbreaking images.

The Zhurong Mars rover touched down in 2021.

An astronomer named Giovanni Schiaparelli saw straight lines on Mars and assumed they were canals. When telescopes became more advanced, scientists were able to determine that the lines had been an illusion.

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50 Fascinating Facts About Mars To Share With Kids - WeAreTeachers