Imagine going on a journey to the red planet, Mars. Well, of course this is only hypothetical
because human life is not sustainable on Mars. There is only 0.13% oxygen on Mars. The first
thing you would notice is the red color of the rocks, sky, and soil. Mars has an environment
that is red because of the rust. You would also notice the moons, volcanoes, and a canyon system.
But this is only the beginning, so sit back and relax as we go on the Mission to Mars.
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. Mars is 141,600,000 miles from the sun. Mars has an
average diameter of 6,780km(4,213) making it half the size of earth. In Greek, Mars is called Ares,
the god of War. The atmosphere in Mars is composed of of carbon dioxide-95.3% plus nitrogen(2.7%), and
argon(1.6%). The temperature is about 218K. The gravity on Mars is .38, which is weaker than Earth's
gravity. That means a 100 pound object would weigh 38 pounds on Mars.
As you wonder further into the realms of Mars you would encounter many volcanoes. The Olympus Mons is the
largest volcano in the solar system and is classified as a shield volcano. A shield volcano is a volcano
in the shape of a flattened dome that is filled with fluid lava. Valles Marineris is a system of canyons
and Hellas Planitia is an impact crater. If you think this is weird, read this- THe southern hemisphere is
a contrast to the northern hemisphere. The southern hemisphere has a terrain full of craters and the northern
terrain has many plains and has a lower elevation. Now, traveling from the ground to the sky, there is two
heavenly moons. If you look up at the sky the moons, Phobos and Deimos look down with bright, glowing eyes.
Phobos means fear and Deimos means terror. Both moons were discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877.
The first spacecraft that went to Mars was Mariner 4 in 1965. The Viking had two landings in 1976. The Viking
tested to see if their was life on Mars, but there is no evidence for life on Mars. The Mars Pathfinder went to
Mars on July 4, 1997 bringing back an array of pictrues. Although space travel to the planet Mars is imposssible,
we have developed a way to receive information first-hand from the planet's surface. We accomplished this by ultizing "The Pathfinder".
The Pathfinder is a 3-ft. tall spacecraft that landed on the surface of Mars. We were able to launch it on to the surface
due to the 26 month rotation the Earth and Mars has. At the end of those 26 months, the two planets are
close enough to each other to safely send the spacecraft on its mission.
Once on the surface, The Pathfinder let out the Sojourner. The Sojourner is a 1-ft tall, 2-ft long robot car.
It was programmed to trundle away from the Pathfinder and investigate the desert like surface of Mars. It's findings about
the geography of the planet tell us more about Mars and if life may be possible there.
The Sojourner has on it, an alpha proton x-ray spectrometer. That allow the Sojourner to find rocks and analyze the chemical
makeup of each. Also on it is a solar panel to help maintain energy, cameras to send back to us, and a laser Navigation System
to help it steer. The wheels and motor are also a part of its makeup. With all of this, we can easily learn more about Mars'
surface and general information on the planet. I hope you enjoyed our marvelous journey on our Mission to Mars.
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