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Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. The surface of Mars is orange-red because it is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname "the Red Planet". Mars is among the brightest objects in Earth's sky, and its high-contrast albedo features have made it a common subject for telescope viewing.
Learn about Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, and its history, climate, moons, and missions. See images, videos, and news from NASA's robotic explorers and human spaceflight plans.
Learn about Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, and its features, history, and potential for life. Find out how Mars compares to Earth in size, distance, orbit, seasons, moons, and more.
2 days ago · Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system, only larger than Mercury and slightly more than half the size of Earth. It has an equatorial radius of 3,396 km (2,110 miles) and a mean polar radius of 3,379 km (2,100 miles).
- Mars is less than 56 million km (35 million miles) from Earth at its closest approach, but it recedes to almost 400 million km (250 million miles)...
- Mars is similar to Earth in many ways. Like Earth, it has clouds, winds, a roughly 24-hour day, seasonal weather patterns, polar ice caps, volcanoe...
- The characteristic temperature on Mars in the lower atmosphere is about 200 kelvins (K; −100 °F, −70 °C), which is generally colder than the averag...
- The Viking landers are two robotic U.S. spacecraft launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the study of the planet...
- Space colonization, on Mars or elsewhere, is widely debated. Some argue humans have a moral duty to save our species from extinction, and space col...
Explore the surface of Mars with Google Maps. Zoom, rotate and search for landmarks and features on the red planet.
Learn about Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest in the solar system. Discover its features, moons, seasons, volcanoes, dust storms, and more.
Mars is one of the easiest planets to spot in the night sky – it looks like a bright red point of light. Despite being inhospitable to humans, robotic explorers – like NASA's new Perseverance rover – are serving as pathfinders to eventually get humans to the surface of the Red Planet.