1. Investigating Mars
Voyage to Mars – Complete each of the following sentences
On a trip to Mars I would take…
I would like to visit Mars because…
If I went to Mars, I would study…
I know Mars has/is…

2. Mars Stats
Distance from the Sun – Minimum: 206,000,000 km or 2.06x10^8 km
Maximum: 249,000,000 km or 2.49x10^8 km
Distance from Earth – Minimum: 55,000 km or 5.5x10^3 km
Maximum: 401,000,000 km or 4.01x10^8 km
Year – 1.88 Earth Years = 669 Mars days (sols) = 687 Earth days
Solar Day – 24.7 hours
Tilt of Rotation Axis – 25.2° vs 23.5° for Earth
Size – Diameter: 6,789 km vs 12,756 km for Earth
Surface Gravity: m/s^2 (or ~1/3 of Earth’s gravity)
Mass: 6.4x10^20 g vs 59.8x10^20 g for Earth

3. Atmosphere & Weather
Surface Temperature – Average Surface Temperature: -63°C (-81°)
Typical Range of Surface Temperatures: -130°C
(-200°F) to 25°C (75°F)
Storms – Typically, dry, cold, and clear; however…
Day = 0°C - same night, -90°C; 110 degree differences = warm and cold temperature fronts; which lead to massive dust storms that can engulf the entire planet for weeks
Atmosphere – Thin, unbreathable, dusty
Contains 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.5% argon, 0.1% oxygen

4. Surface Color – Rust red
Landscape – Dominated by ancient impact craters
Volcano – Largest volcano in the Solar System – Olympus Mons
Height of nearly 22 km (16 mi)
Almost three times as tall as Mount Everest's height above sea level
Canyon - Largest canyon in the Solar System – Valles Marineris
Stretches a distance equivalent to the distance from New York to Los Angeles
Arizona's Grand Canyon could easily fit into one of the side canyons of this great chasm

5. Moons Mars has two moons… Phobos (“Fear”) Deimos (“Panic”)
27 x 22 x 18 km
1.0659×10^16 kg
Deimos (“Panic”)
15 x 12 x 10 km
1.4762× 10^15 kg

6. Mars Exit Ticket
Which planet, Mars or Earth, has the greater rotation axis tilt?
Name the Solar System’s largest canyon and volcano.
Name Mars’s two moons.
What type of storm can engulf the entire surface and how do they form?
Why is Mars a reddish color?