MARS

THE GEOLOGY OF MARS

Mars is a terrestrial planet because it has got:

-a crust -a mantle -a core

The core of Mars is composed by iron and it extends for a ray of about 1480 km. probably the core is not liquid, but at viscous status.

THE IRON OXIDE

The colour of the crust is red, that’s why Mars is also called The Red Planet . This particular colour is caused by iron oxide. Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen.

THE SURFACE OF MARS

The surface presents a lot of vulcanic formations, valleys, polar ice caps and sandy desert. An important vulcan of Mars is Olympus Mons, it is the highest vulcan (22 km) in the Solar System. What is more it is presumed that a long time ago there was water on Mars, which has now totally disappeared.

THE GRAVITY

The surface gravity, g, of an astronomical or other object is the gravitational acceleration experienced at its surface. Surface gravity is measured in units of acceleration, which, in the SI system, are meters per second squared. It may also be expressed as a multiple of the Earth's standard surface gravity, g = 9.80665 m/s^2.

The gravity on Mars is much lower than it is here on Earth, 62% lower to be more precise. That means that Martian gravity is 38% of Earth’s. A person weighing 100 kg here would tip the scales at 38 kg there. Mars is smaller than Earth in all the factors that determine the gravity of a planet. Mass, density, and size are a few of them.

THE GRAVITY ON MARS

THE ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere of Mars is less than 1% of Earth’s, so it does not protect the planet from the Sun’s radiation. It consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and the remainder is trace amounts of oxygen, water vapor, and other gases.

Also, it is constantly filled with small particles of dust(mainly iron oxide), which give Mars its reddish hue. Scientist believe that the atmosphere of Mars is so negligible because the planet lost its magnetosphere about 4 billion years ago.

THE MOONS OF MARS

Mars has two relatively small natural moons: -Phobos ;

-Deimos. In about 50 million years

they will either crash into Mars’ surface or break up into a ring structure around the planet.

THE ORBIT OF MARS

Mars is the fourth planet in the Solar System and being much farther from the Sun respect to Earth, so it takes more time to make a complete circle around it, about two Earth years.

MARS AND THE ROMANS

Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions. His festivals were held in March, the month named after him, and in October, which began and ended the season for military campaigning and farming.

EXPLORATION OF MARS

It has been an important part of the space exploration programs of Russia, the Soviet Union, the United States, Europe, and Japan. Dozens of robotic spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s. These missions were aimed at gathering data about current conditions and answering questions about the history of Mars as well as a preparation for a possible human mission to Mars. The questions raised by the scientific community are expected to not only give a better appreciation of the red planet but also yield further insight into the past, and possible future, of Earth.

La sitografia

• http://it.wikipedia.org• http://en.wikipedia.org• http://www.rpi.edu/research

/magazine/fall2007/argon-2.html• http://explanet.info/Chapter06.htm

Alessandri DanieleAmato MatteoPesce Riccardo

Schifanella Lorenzo

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