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This means that Mars has lost a volume of water 6.5 times what is stored in today's polar caps. The water for a time would have formed an ocean in the low-lying Mare Boreum. The amount of water could have covered the planet about 140 meters, but was probably in an ocean that in places would be almost 1 mile deep. [1] [2]
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". [22] [23] 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.
The zodiac constellations of Mars's ecliptic are almost the same as those of Earth — after all, the two ecliptic planes only have a mutual inclination of 1.85° — but on Mars, the Sun spends 6 days in the constellation Cetus, leaving and re-entering Pisces as it does so, making a total of 14 zodiacal constellations.
Named after the Roman god of war, it is often referred to as the "Red Planet" [1] [2] because the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere , having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth .
Areography, also known as the geography of Mars, is a subfield of planetary science that entails the delineation and characterization of regions on Mars. [1] [2] [3] Areography is mainly focused on what is called physical geography on Earth; that is the distribution of physical features across Mars and their cartographic representations.
The surface appearance of some regions of Mars is due to how this unit has degraded. It is a major cause of the surface appearance of lobate debris aprons. [56] The layering of the upper plains mantling unit and other mantling units are believed to be caused by major changes in the planet's climate.
The history of Mars observation is about the recorded history of observation of the planet Mars. Some of the early records of Mars' observation date back to the era of the ancient Egyptian astronomers in the 2nd millennium BCE. Chinese records about the motions of Mars appeared before the founding of the Zhou dynasty (1045 BCE).
Mars 1: Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) 1 November 1962 Soviet Union: Flyby Spacecraft failure Communications lost before first flyby: Molniya: 5 2MV-3 No.1: 2MV-3 No.1: 4 November 1962 Soviet Union: Lander Launch failure Never left LEO Molniya: 6 Mariner 3: Mariner 3: 5 November 1964: NASA United States: Flyby Launch failure Payload fairing failed to ...