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NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rovers to explore the Martian surface and geology ; both landed on Mars at separate locations in January 2004.
The thin atmosphere allows Mars to radiate heat energy away more easily, so temperatures near the equator can get up to 21 °C (70 °F) during a summer day, and then drop down to −73 °C (−99 °F) at night. [10] Subsurface conditions on Mars are dramatically more benign than those on the surface, which lead researchers to believe that if ...
[55] [56] Large areas of the Martian surface are loaded with ice that is protected by a meters thick layer of dust and other material. However, if cracks appear, a fresh surface will expose ice to the thin atmosphere. [57] [58] In a short time, the ice will disappear into the cold, thin atmosphere in a process called sublimation. Dry ice ...
Mars isn’t the only planet to keep an eye out for this month. Sky-gazers can look forward to catching glimpses of four bright planets at the same time in the night sky.
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 elemental composition of Mars is different from Earth's in several significant ways. First, Martian meteorite analysis suggests that the planet's mantle is about twice as rich in iron as the Earth's mantle. [6] [7] The planet's distinctive red color is due to iron oxides on its surface. Second, its core is richer in sulphur. [8]
Scientists have never recorded an active volcano eruption on the surface of Mars. [65] Searches for thermal signatures and surface changes within the last decade have not yielded evidence for active volcanism. [66] On October 17, 2012, the Curiosity rover on the planet Mars at "Rocknest" performed the first X-ray diffraction analysis of Martian ...
[10] [11] Due to the effect of librations and the parallax due to the close distance of Phobos, by observing at high and low latitudes and observing as Phobos is rising and setting, the overall total coverage of Phobos's surface that is visible at one time or another from one location or another on Mars's surface is considerably higher than 50%.