Mars (planet)

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in our Solar System.

Mars is named after the mythological Roman god of war because it is a red planet, and red is the color of blood.

Mars has two very small moons, called Phobos and Deimos.

The planet Mars is made of rock. The ground there is red because of iron oxide (rust) in the rock and dust. The planet has a very thin carbon dioxide atmosphere. The temperatures on Mars are much colder than on Earth, because it is too far away from the Sun. There is some ice at the north and south poles of Mars, and also frozen carbon dioxide.

Mars does not have any water on the surface now, except at the poles, but most scientists think it used to have water. Scientists are trying to find out how much water there was on Mars, and when the water disappeared. Some scientists think there may still be water or ice under the ground on Mars.

Because Mars is closest to the Earth in the Solar System, people have wondered if there was any kind of life on Mars.

Some famous stories were written about this idea. The writers used the name "Martians" for intelligent beings from Mars. In 1898 H. G. Wells wrote The War of the Worlds, a famous novel about Martians attacking the Earth. In 1938, Orson Welles broadcast a radio version of this story in the United States, and many people thought it was really happening and were very afraid. Beginning in 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote several novels about adventures on Mars.

As of November 2006, scientists still have not discovered proof of any life on Mars, either living now or extinct.

Several space probes without people have gone to Mars to study it. Some have orbited (gone around) the planet, and some have landed on it. We have pictures of the surface of Mars that were sent back to Earth by some of these probes.

Some people are interested in sending astronauts to visit Mars. This would be a difficult project, and the astronauts would have to stay away from Earth for several years.

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