Post on 22-Feb-2016
description
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars the Red PlanetKnown to Babylonians 3,600 years ago as “Star that Wandered”The Greeks referred to it as “Ares” the god of WarRomans called it Mars
Location
Image Courtesy of NASA
Basic FactsDistance from Sun ≈1.52 times as far as EarthTime to Orbit the Sun ~ 26 Earth monthsAtmosphere ~ Mostly carbon dioxideMartian Day ~ 24.7 hoursTemperature on the planet’s surface hardly rises above freezing point
Earth and Mars ComparisonEarth Mars
Radius 6378 km 3397 kmDensity 5515 kg/m3 3933 kg/m3
Gravity 9.8 m/s2 3.72 m/s2
Year 365.25 days 686.98 daysEccentricity 0.017 0.094Day 24 hours 24 hr 39 minObliquity 23.45º 25.19º
Earth and Mars Comparison
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars Surface FeaturesSurface Color: “Red” Features– Impact Craters– Largest volcano in the
solar system(Olympus Mons)
– Largest Canyon in the Solar System(Valles Marineris)
– Ancient river channels– Lava Rocks– Dust: Reddish from
volcanic rock
Valles Marineris
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars AtmosphereUnbreathableThinDusty, makes the sky pinkish, lots of dust stormsSurface Pressure: 1/150th of Earth’s (only 5.6 millibars)Composition: 95% CO2, 3% N, 1.5% Ar, 0.1% O2, 0.03% H2O
Moons of MarsMars has two tiny moons named “Deimos” (Panic) & “Phobos” (Fear)The moons are irregular and very small in size– Phobos 27x22x18 km– Deimos 15x12x10 km
The moons are probably asteroids captured by Mars
Deimos Phobos
Image Courtesy of NASA
Is there Water on Mars?Water is the key to life as we know itThe north and south poles of Mars are covered with thick ice or frostSome astronomers about 100 years ago thought there were canals on Mars dug by intelligent civilizationSpace probes to date have not found any traces of canals on Mars
Previous Mission to MarsViking 1 and 2 in 1976– First pictures of
Martian surface
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Previous Mission to MarsPathfinder in 1997– Roving vehicle –
Sojourner to explore Martian surface
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Current MissionsMars Global Surveyor– Accomplishes all
the tasks of its mission
– And still going
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
OdysseyDiscovered subsurface water ice near polesTrack changes of polar ice, clouds and dust stormsGenerated maps of radiation and minerals
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars RoversSpirit– Landed January 3,
2004Opportunity– Landed January 24,
2004
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars Reconnaissance OrbiterLaunch date 2005SHARAD– Shallow Radar
Instrument– Penetrate ground and
search for water at depths greater than 3 feet.
CRISM– Spectrometer– Find recent traces of
water
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars Reconnaissance OrbiterLaunch date 2005CTX– Contex Camera– Wide area views
HiRISE– High Resolution
Camera– In depth study of
areas where water once flowed
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Future Mission
Phoenix - 2008
K9 Rover Mars Science Laboratory - 2009
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars Websiteshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroomhttp://mars.jpl.nasa.govhttp://marsed.asu.eduhttp://msip.asu.eduhttp://marsbound.asu.edu