Mars
The Red Planet
Nomneclature
Composition
Mars atmosphere contains 95.32 percent carbon dioxide, 2.7 percent nitrogen, 1.6 percent argon, 0.13 percent oxygen, 0.08 percent carbon monoxide, minor amounts of water, nitrogen oxide, neon, hydrogen-deuterium-oxygen, krypton, xenon
Surface
The Martian surface is covered with dust much like the surface of the moon, this dust is the result of years of erosion from the martian winds. The first instrument to land on Mars capable of analyzing soil and rock was the European Pathfinder aboard the Sojourner Rover. The Pathfinder found the the surface of Mars is composed of two types of rocks, felsic and mafic. Felsic rocks are rocks containing whitish material feldspar, these types of rocks were found in the low lying plains of the southern hemisphere. Mafic rocks are made from volcanic lava, this is the type of rock that scientist most expected to find on Mars. Mafic type rocks were found in the ancient highlands of the southern hemisphere. Soil analysis found that in the underlying surface the two types of rock are roughly in proportion.
Atmosphere
Surface of Mars
Mars Pathfinder
Size of Mars
Density of Mars
Surface Temperatures
Plate Tectonics
Mars also has the tallest mountain, most volcanoes and the longest valley in the solar system. Olympus Mons, is 17 miles tall, or about 3 times taller than Mt. Everest. Olympusin Mons is also a shield volcanoe and is about 370 miles wide, which is as wide as the state of New Mexico. This is more evidence for the existence of plate tectonics on Mars.
Technology and Exlporation of Mars: Interactive
Robot spacecraft began observing Mars in the 1960s, with the United States launching Mariner 4 there in 1964 and Mariners 6 and 7 in 1969. They revealed Mars to be a barren world, without any signs of the life or civilizations people had imagined there. In 1971, Mariner 9 orbited Mars, mapping about 80 percent of the planet and discovering its volcanoes and canyons.
The rover Curiosity is currently on Mars exploring if life small life forms called Microbes exist here.Bibliography
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Articles - Density of Mars - OPT Telescopes. (2008, September 10). OPT Telescopes . Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://www.optcorp.com/articles/density-of-mars
Day & Night Temperature. (n.d.). Center for Mars Exploration . Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://cmex.ihmc.us/data/catalog/SurfaceLayer/DayNightTemp.html
ESA Science & Technology: Martian Surface. (2006, August 8). ESA Science & Technology. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://sci.esa.int/mars-express/31029-martian-surface/
Mars. (2006, September 13). Journey Through the Galaxy . Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/stu/advanced/mars.html
Wolpert, S. (2012, August 9). UCLA scientist discovers plate tectonics on Mars / UCLA Newsroom. For News Media . Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-scientist-discovers-plate-237303.aspx