Mars
Welcome to Mars, 23 meters away from the Sun, and only 0.7 mm in diameter.
The Planetfield is a unique light model of our solar system, at the correct relative scale, where both distances and planet sizes are reduced by a factor of ten billion. Read more about the model.
The red glow of the luminous sphere reveals that this is Mars, the Red Planet. This familiar color is due to rust (iron oxides) in the planet's soil.
Mars features a dramatic landscape; here we find, among other things, Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, which towers an impressive 22 kilometers high and spans a diameter of around 600 kilometers. In addition, the surface is scarred by the giant canyon Valles Marineris, which extends over 4,000 kilometers in length and cuts up to 7 kilometers deep into the terrain.
Mars is among the best candidates when it comes to the search for life in the solar system, and it is the planet that most closely resembles Earth, despite major differences. The planet has a thin atmosphere, and space probes have revealed vast areas of ancient riverbeds. A number of robotic vehicles have also landed on Mars to conduct investigations, and continue to do so at full capacity. It is now quite clear that frozen water exists both in the soil and beneath parts of the surface. In the past, this water formed lakes and flowed across the planet's surface.
The temperature on the planet varies from +20 °C on a good summer day to -140 °C at night, and it has seasons that somewhat resemble Earth's. Two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, also orbit Mars. In relation to Mars, these two moons would look like two small stones in orbit around the planet.
If you would now like to continue to Jupiter, you must first pass through the asteroid belt.
Facts about Mars
| Diameter | About 6 800 km |
|---|---|
| Distance from the Sun | About 228 millions of kms |
| Rotation period | 24 h 40 min |
| Orbital period around the Sun | 687 Earth days |
| Surface temperature | -153 to 20 ºC |
