Space Probes

1

• Mars

The Red Planet
2

• Surface Features

• Valles Marineris- a canyon system
• Tharis-huge bulge 4000 km across and 10 km high
  there are 3 of these dark red spots (volcanoes)
• Olympus Mons- largest mountain in solar system
• Hellas Planitia- crater 6km deep and 2000 km
  across
• Ravi Vallis-a collapsed and disrupted channel
• Dunefields
• Streamlined Islands-formed from water carving the
  channels
• White Rock- eroded crater fill
• Polar Caps- south frozen carbon dioxide
• north composed of water-ice

3

• Basic Facts

• referred to as the Red Planet
• Fourth planet from the sun
• Mars is honored by the Roman God of War because
  of the planets red color resembling blood
• Revolution period 687 days
• Rotation period 24hrs and 37 minutes

• Size Composition

• Diameter 6,794 km
• Mass 6.4219e23 kg
• Iron core
• Surface is composed of basaltic rock, pyroxenite,
  and diabase

4

• Space Probes

• July 1965- Mariner 4 took 22 pictures
• Mars 2 is first spacecraft to attempt to land on
  Mars
• September 1997- Viking Landers 1 and 2
• July 4, 1997- Mars Pathfinder successfully landed
  on Mars
• 2004- Mars Expedition Rovers Spirit and
  Opportunity-discovered geological data and took
  pictures

5

• Natural Satellites/Moons

• Phobos

• both are dark celestial bodies consisted of
  C-type surface materials
• some scientits believe that these two moons are
  captured asteroids
• Phobos and Deimos were discovered by Asaph Hall
  in 1877

(Fear)

• Deimos

(Panic)