Mars

 Mars is 141,600,000 miles away from the sun.  It has a diameter of 4,222 miles.  Mars is about half the size of Earth and is the most Earth like planet.  It is very easy to see at night.  You will not need binoculars or a telescope!  How bright it looks will depend on how close it is to Earth.

Mars is dry and rocky.  The rocky ground has iron in it which makes it appear to be red.  The North and South poles are covered with ice which is mostly carbon dioxide.  There is also water ice on Mars.  We think that water ice is also hidden below the surface of the planet.  According to the most recent news from NASA there may actually be liquid water on Mars!  The surface of Mars has craters, valleys, hills, ridges, and plateaus.

Mars has a very thin atmosphere.  Its atmosphere is made up of mostly carbon dioxide, with nitrogen, argon, and trace amounts of oxygen and water vapor.  It appears that liquid water used to flow on the surface a long time ago.

Mars has the largest volcanic mountain in our solar system.  Its name is Olympus Mons.  We believe it is extinct.  Mars also has canyons that are as long as the distance from New York to Los Angeles!  That is as long as the United States!  Mars also has huge dust storms that can cover the whole planet!

Mars is the first planet that we have sent a spacecraft to.  This is a picture that it took : 

Each day on Mars lasts 24.6 hours.  That is just slightly longer than one of our days. A year on Mars takes 687 Earth days.  Our Earth year is only 365 days long.

Mars was named after the 'Roman god of the War.  It probably got its name because it is red.

Mars only has two moons.  They are named Deimos and Phobos. Deimos, whose name means "Terror”, is only 7.8 miles across!  That is tiny!  Phobos, whose name means "Fear", is almost twice as large, it is 13.8 miles across.  Both moons would fit in Kansas City with lots of room to spare!