Mars Facts
January 4, 2022
This is the astronomy blog for the game SkyNation. The first blog will be about the red planet, of course.
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Mars facts
| EARTH | MARS | |
|---|---|---|
| Average Distance from Sun | 93 million miles | 142 million miles |
| Average Speed in Orbiting Sun | 18.5 miles per second | 14.5 miles per second |
| Diameter | 7,926 miles | 4,220 miles |
| Tilt of Axis | 23.5 degrees | 25 degrees |
| Length of Year | 365.25 Days | 687 Earth Days |
| Length of Day | 23 hours 56 minutes | 24 hours 37 minutes |
| Gravity | 2.66 times that of Mars | 0.375 that of Earth |
| Temperature | Average 57 degrees F | Average -81 degrees F |
| Atmosphere | nitrogen, oxygen, argon, others | mostly carbon dioxide, some water vapor |
| Number of Moons | 1 | 2 |
Exploration
Mars has been explored by several uncrewed spacecraft. Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to visit Mars; launched by NASA on 28 November 1964, it made its closest approach to the planet on 15 July 1965. Mariner 4 detected the weak Martian radiation belt, measured at about 0.1% that of Earth, and captured the first images of another planet from deep space. The latest spacecraft to successfully land on Mars are CNSA's Tianwen-1 lander and Zhurong rover, landed on 14 May 2021. The Zhurong rover was successfully deployed on 22 May 2021, which makes China the second country to successfully deploy a rover on Mars, after the United States.
Astronomy
Mars can easily be seen from Earth with the naked eye, as can its reddish coloring. Its apparent magnitude reaches −2.94, which is surpassed only by Venus, the Moon and the Sun.[13] Optical ground-based telescopes are typically limited to resolving features about 300 kilometres (190 mi) across when Earth and Mars are closest because of Earth's atmosphere.
The Earth is still the best planet to live, though. No other planet like it. By moving to Mars, we garantee a secondary habitat, and the chances of failing will be very slim.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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