nd
aF
. Ra
dke
Science & Nature
:
by
Photo
Li
Let’s Visit Mars!
by Conrad J. Storad
Look up into the dark night sky. If the sky is
clear and you are away from city lights, you will
see lots of stars. There are other bright objects
as well. The planet Mars is often the third
brightest object in the night sky. Look closely.
Mars looks like a reddish-colored star. Only the
Moon and the planet Venus are brighter.
Mars is called the Red Planet. The reddish color
comes from all the iron oxide found in the planet’s
soil and dust. On Earth, rust is another name for
iron oxide.
People will travel to and live on Mars within the
next 20 years. At least that is the plan envisioned by
scientists and engineers at the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA). Scientists have
learned a great deal about Mars in the past 30 years.
A fleet of spacecraft and satellites sent to Mars have
sent back piles of information and photos. We even
have robotic rovers driving on the Martian surface
right now.
22
The Viking 1 orbiter image shows the thin atmosphere of Mars.
(photo courtesy of NASA)
and run faster. You would also weigh a lot less. A third
grader who weighs 100 pounds on Earth would weigh
only 38 pounds on Mars.
Mars is much like Earth in some ways. It is also very
different. Mars rotates on its axis once every 24
hours and 37 minutes. So one day on Mars is just a
bit longer than a day on Earth. Mars is the second
smallest planet in the solar system. Only Mercury is
smaller. Mars is about 4,220 miles across. That is just
about half the size of Earth. Mars is twice the size of
the moon.
Who will be the first person to set foot on Mars? It
could be you! But you will need to be smart and be in
good physical shape to make the trip. Sending a person
to Mars will not be easy. It will be a LOT more difficult
than it was to send the Apollo astronauts to the moon
in 1969 and the early 1970s. There are lots of technical
problems to solve. Consider some facts: Our moon is
only 238,900 miles away. But Mars is more than 35
million miles away when at its closest point to the
Earth. It is about 248 million miles away at its farthest
point. NASA must plan carefully. There is plenty of
complex mathematics involved.
Mars has gravity. Gravity is the force that holds
people and trees and rocks and buildings on the
surface of the Earth. It keeps us from flying off into
space. But the force of gravity on Mars is much weaker
than on the Earth. That is because the Red Planet is
so much smaller. On Mars, you could jump higher
To measure time on Mars, you must use different
calculations. One Earth day is 24 hours. But one Mars
day lasts 24 hours and 37 minutes. That is the time it
takes for the planet to spin around its axis. One year
on Earth is 365 days. That is the amount of time it
takes our planet to make a complete orbit of the Sun.
StoryMonstersInk.com | SEPTEMBER 2015 | Story Monsters Ink
One Mars year is equal to 686.7 Earth days. That is 1.88
Earth years.
A mission to Mars must launch when the planet is at
its closest point to the Earth. Launched at the perfect
time, it will still take your spacecraft 11 months to
reach Mars. Once you get there, the team will have to
stay on Mars for an entire Earth year. Why? Because
you must wait for the two planets to again be close
enough to begin the long trip home. The entire roundtrip journey will take almost three years. You will need
to take enough food, water and fuel to survive that long
in space.
This image, taken by the panoramic camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit
shows the rocky surface of Mars. (photo courtesy of NASA)
Scientists and engineers still have LOTS of work to do
to solve those problems. But one thing is certain: If you
are a member of the first team of humans to go to Mars,
you will NOT be bored!
Questions to strain your brain:
Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. (photo courtesy of NASA)
How old are you in Martian years?
If you stayed on Mars for one Earth-year, how many
Martian-years would pass?
Resources to learn
more about Mars:
How much would you weigh on Mars?
Red Planet fast facts:
»» Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.
»» Olympus Mons is the biggest volcano on Mars. It
is almost 15 miles high. That is three times taller
than Mount Everest. The giant volcano is so wide
it would cover the whole state of Arizona.
»» Valles Marineris is a huge canyon on Mars. It is
very deep and more than 2,500 miles long. This
“grand canyon” of Mars would stretch across the
entire United States.
»» At night, the temperature on Mars can drop
to 220 degrees below zero.
»» Mars is a windy place. The wind can gust up to
80 miles per hour. That is hurricane force here on
Earth. Giant dust storms on Mars can cover the
entire planet and last for a year.
WEBSITES:
• Mars Education Program at Arizona State
University http://marsed.asu.edu
• Mars for Kids http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/
participate/funzone
• NASA’s Journey to Mars https://www.nasa.
gov/topics/journeytomars
BOOKS:
• Mars by Conrad J. Storad
• Touchdown Mars! by Ken Edgett,
Peggy Wethered and Michael Chesworth
Conrad J. Storad
The award-winning author and editor of more
than 50 science and nature books for children and
young adults, Conrad J. Storad expertly draws
young readers into his imaginative and entertaining
“classroom” to help them better understand and
appreciate the natural world.
StoryMonstersInk.com | SEPTEMBER 2015 | Story Monsters Ink
23