Mercury Venus Earth Mars Inner Planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars

NASA Missions to planet Objectives Atmosphere Characteristics NASA Missions to planet

The whole mass of gas surrounding a planet Atmosphere The whole mass of gas surrounding a planet

Mercury Characteristics Smallest Terrestrial planet Closest to sun 0 moons Surface is flat plains and craters

At night -274º because heat escapes due to NO ATMOSPHERE Mercury Atmosphere No atmosphere Weak gravity because of small size Has greatest temperature range 806° during day on side facing sun. At night -274º because heat escapes due to NO ATMOSPHERE

Flew by Mercury 3 times in 1974-1975 Missions to Mercury MARINER 10 Flew by Mercury 3 times in 1974-1975 MESSENGER Launched in 2004, orbited in 2011 after several flybys. Collected data on planet . BEPICOLUMBO FUTURE 2013 European Space Agency mission to Mercury. August 2013 launch “orbiter” (6 year Mission.) Lander part cancelled due to money problems.

Mariner 10

Venus Characteristics Evening/ morning star Can be seen in west after sunset and can be seen before sunrise Earth’s Twin Size, mass, density, & internal structure similar to Earth. Covered with rock, many volcanoes & lava plains Rotates East to West “theory” is that large object hit Venus & changed rotation (Earth rotates west to east)

Venus’ Atmosphere If you could stand on Venus, atmosphere would crush you. Pressure is 90 times greater than Earth. Atmosphere made mostly of Carbon dioxide CO2 Hottest surface of any planet 860º F CAN MELT LEAD! Clouds & CO2 trap heat and cause “GREENHOUSE EFFECT” CO2 *Thick atmosphere, *Always cloudy *Clouds made of sulfuric acid droplets

Missions to Venus VENERA 7 Magellan Landed on Venus in 1970 Lasted on a few minutes due to high temperature and pressure Magellan Orbited Venus beginning in 1990. Mapped surface using radar. NASA crash landed it on Venus in 1994. In 1990 flew by Venus on way to Jupiter. Galileo In 1995 flew by Venus. Vega1&2

Earth Characteristics Unique -has water 70 % of planet covered with water

Enough gravity to hold on to most gases Earth’s Atmosphere Atmosphere Enough gravity to hold on to most gases Oxygen Nitrogen Carbon Dioxide Argon Water Vapor

Mars’ Characteristics Red Planet Slightly red tint in sky Iron rich rocks & dust Water Theory Large amount of H2O flowed on surface Water is now *located at 2 poles – frozen *frozen underground H20 quickly turns to gas due to thin atmosphere

Mars’ Characteristics *Tilted Axis *Has seasons Giant Volcanoes *”Olympus Mons” largest volcano 2 moons *Phobos-spiraling to Mars *Deimos

Mars’ Atmosphere Atmosphere 95% CO2 Thin atmosphere -280° F – 68° F Temperature Few clouds

Mars’ Missions Many probes Viking 1 Viking 2 Rovers Spirit Opportunity http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/index.cfm?v=46 Rover Curiosity http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/index.cfm?v=44

Curiosity Mission name: Mars Science Laboratory Rover name: Curiosity rover Size: About the size of a small SUV -- 10 feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall -- (about 3 meters long (not including the arm), 2.7 meters wide, and 2.2 meters tall), or about the height of a basketball player. Arm Reach: About 7 feet (2.2 meters) Weight: 900 kilograms (2,000 pounds) Features: Geology lab, rocker-bogie suspension, rock-vaporizing laser and lots of cameras Mission: To search areas of Mars for past or present conditions favorable for life, and conditions capable of preserving a record of life Launch: Nov. 26, 2011, 7:02 a.m. PST (10:02 a.m. EST) Landing: August 2012 Length of mission on Mars: The prime mission will last one Mars year or about 23 Earth months.