|
Diameter/km
Mass/kg
mean density kg/m
Volume/km^3
Surface gravity
Escape velocity
Axial rotation period/h
Axial inclination
Distance from Sun
eccentricity of orbit
Orbital period/days |
6794
0.64e+24
3.93e+3
16.32e+10
3.69
5.03km/s
24.62
25.19³
227.92e+6
0.093
686.980 |
Mars, also known as the Red planet is the likeliest planet for humans to set foot on as it is the closest planet to Earth.
Mars is a cold world with max temperatures just over zero in some areas, its thin atmosphere composed primarily of carbon dioxide causes temperatures to vary by as much as 120 degrees Celsius from equator to pole. With little water vapour you would not think Mars could really have weather but it does. Although Mars only receives a quarter of the energy the Earth receives from the Sun as it is further away from the Sun, the weather on Mars is driven by changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure.
A small dust storm can transform the appearance of the entire planet in a short period of time.
Evidence of the existence of water on the Martian surface has been found, many photographs of the surface show certain features such as gullies which water must have carved, and also sedimentary rocks have been found which must have been formed by liquid water.
If humans were to colonise Mars, mountaineers would love the challenge of climbing on top of the largest mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons which is 27km high. If anyone were to stand on its summit, the atmosphere would be so thin that they'd virtually be standing in outer space.
Humans colonising Mars would be more likely to live on lowland which would be on the Hellas basin hemisphere where the altitude is well below average. This is to reduce the risk of radiation doses from the sun. If similar radiation doses were received by earth organisms, they would quickly perish in areas of high elevations, where the blanketing effect of the atmosphere is minimal. Also humans would probably live near the south polar cap where there may be an excess of 50% water by mass, rather than the northern polar cap which is blanketed by a thick coating of dry ice (carbon dioxide frost).
