Mars

Have you ever wondered why they call Mars "The Red Planet" ? Or what makes it so red? All these questions will be answered in today's post. Today I am going to be telling you about the planet Mars. Mars is a planet smaller than Earth and Venus, but it is bigger than Mercury and the Moon. Mars is called the red planet because it is completely covered in red soil. The red planet has very rich amounts of iron. This is what makes Mars red. Mars is a planet that has two moons named Deimos and Phobos. Scientists think that these two moons came from asteroids that got pulled into the orbit of Mars because of their jagged shape. Here is a picture of Deimos:


Here is a picture of Phobos:


Scientists think that there may have been water on Mars. They are currently sending spacecraft and rovers to investigate the soil and do some experiments. A recent rover that NASA sent down there is named Curiosity. Curiosity took some pictures and had a laser that broke down rocks. Curiosity launched from Earth on November 26, 2011, at 10:02 eastern time. Curiosity reached Mars on August 6, 2012. Curiosity is currently exploring Mars surface and sending pictures and information. Here is a picture that Curiosity took:

The distance from the Sun to Mars is 141,600,000 miles. Mars is the fourth and last rocky planet. So remember, if you really hate red, don't go to the planet Mars, because the whole planet is covered in red! :-) 

Stay tuned for Jupiter, the gas giant, coming out on Monday, June 22, 2014, on www.anishspace.blogspot.com