Planet Mars - description, interesting facts for children

Astronomy for children > Solar system > Planet Mars

Interesting facts about the planet Mars for children: description with photos and drawings, place in the solar system, the highest Mount Olympus, satellites, is there life on Mars.

Probably, the little ones already know that Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. Because of his bloody color, the Romans perceived him as the god of war. They copied the ancient Greeks, who named it after Ares. Other civilizations very often named planets based on color. For example, the Egyptians called “Ee Desher” – “red”, but ancient Chinese astronomers called it “fiery star”. Next, we suggest that you read a full description of Mars, including interesting facts, characteristics of Mars and answers to frequently asked questions about the planet of the solar system for schoolchildren and children of all ages.

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Despite the fact that it is located at a fairly large distance from the Earth, it began to be observed in ancient Egypt. Then it was considered an object that travels across the sky. In 1610, Galileo Galilei first observed Mars from a telescope. This allowed us to obtain additional information about this planet. Since the 1960s, several robotic spacecraft have been sent to Mars to study the surface of the Red Planet. Perhaps the most famous rover landing on Mars took place in 2012. The name of this robot is Curiosity Rover.

Infographics

Long ago, when Mars was warmer, there was a lot of water on its surface. Since those times, traces of rivers, lakes and even entire seas have remained on the planet. However, all this water froze billions of years ago. Since then, the surface of Mars has been tormented by winds and frost - at least for the last hundred million years. The volcanoes, the tops of which jutted out above the dusty atmosphere of the planet, have long disappeared... Or maybe they still exist? Some places on Mars have fairly fresh lava flows.

However, living creatures and their traces have not yet been found on Mars. But there is still somewhere to look. The main places on Mars: the southern zone, densely covered with craters, the northern plains, the network of canyons of the Valles Marineris, two volcanic hills, two southern depressions and huge ice caps at the planet's poles.

Map of Mars for children.

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He has 2 satellites. Unlike the Earth satellite, the satellites of Mars are much smaller and have a deformed shape. They were named after the twin brothers Phobos and Deimos from Greek mythology. Phobos was a deity in Greek mythology who personified fear. Deimos personified horror. Both were sons of Ares (and therefore Mars) and Aphrodite. Phobos is believed to have a fairly short lifespan. According to scientists, in about 30-50 million years it will break apart or collide with Mars. If you look at Phobos from the surface of the Red Planet, it will be 3 times larger than our Moon.

The composition and structure of Mars - an explanation for children

Atmospheric composition (by volume): 95.32% carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, 0.13% oxygen, 0.08% carbon monoxide, as well as trace amounts of neon, water, krypton, nitric oxide, hydrogen-deuterium-oxygen and xenon.

Magnetic field of Mars: it is not present on a global scale. But there are areas that are 10 times more magnetized than those on Earth (these are remnants of an ancient magnetic field).

Chemical composition: solid core rich in iron, sulfur and nickel. The mantle may be similar to Earth's because it is made of peridotite (silicon, iron, oxygen and magnesium). The crust is mostly made of volcanic basalt, which is also found on the Earth and Moon.

Internal structure: Scientists believe that the core reaches 3000-4000 km in diameter and 5400-7200 km in width. Kora – 50 km.

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In fact, it is very similar to Earth. More similar than other planets in the solar system. For example, one day on Mars lasts the same 24 hours as ours on Earth. But there is also a significant difference. In order to go around the sun, the Red Planet takes 2 times longer than the Earth. That is, this suggests that a year on it lasts 687 Earth days. In the summer on Mars, the temperature rises to 20 degrees Celsius, which is also quite comparable to the temperature on Earth. But in winter it can drop to -130 degrees Celsius.

Physical characteristics of Mars - explanation for children

Parents or teachers at school can start a story about the planet Mars and an explanation for children with the bright color of rust. It is caused by minerals rich in iron. This is loose dust and rocks covering the entire surface. The earth's soil is also regolith, but filled with organic matter. NASA says the iron minerals oxidize (rust) and the soil appears red.

Children should understand that due to the cold and thin atmosphere on Mars, liquid water cannot now exist. And although the desert planet is only half the diameter of Earth, it has the same land area.

The image was taken on August 26, 2003 by the Hubble Space Telescope. Then the Red Planet was located 34.7 million miles from our planet. The photo was taken 11 hours before Mars made its closest approach in 60,000 years.

To explain to children a more detailed description of Mars, we should also remember that the largest volcanoes in the solar system are present here, including Olympus (600 km). Its width will allow it to cover the state of New Mexico. It is a shield volcano with slopes that rise gradually, like terrestrial Hawaiian volcanoes. There are also many other types of volcanic landforms on the planet - from small steep cones to giant plains covered with cooled lava. Sometimes small eruptions still occur on the planet.

Researchers think that Valles Marineris formed due to cracks in the crust as it stretched. Lonely canyons grow 100 km wide. They merge in the central part of the Valles Marineris in an area 600 km wide. During the study, many channels were found. This suggests that liquid water could once flow through them.

Canals, ravines and valleys were found everywhere. Some canals reach 100 km in width and 2,000 km in length. It is believed that water may still remain in cracks, gaps and underground rocks.

Did you know?
That Mars has the highest mountain in the solar system - Olympus, and the deepest crevices?

Olympus is the highest mountain in the solar system and reaches 27 km in height (that's three Everests), and the system of Valles Marineris (in honor of the Miriner-9 apparatus that discovered them in 1971) deepens 10 km, stretching from east to west for 4000 km (this is about 1/5 of the distance around Mars, the approximate width of Australia or the distance from San Diego to Philadelphia)

Many Martian regions are composed of flat, low-lying plains. The lowest of the northern plains is one of the flattest and smoothest places in the entire solar system . It is thought to have been created by water that previously flowed across the Martian surface. The northern hemisphere is at a lower altitude than the southern. This suggests that the crust in the northern hemisphere may be thinner. Everything points to some impact after the formation of Mars.

Schoolchildren and children of all ages will be interested to know that the number of craters can vary depending on the age of the surface. Most of the southern part is quite old and filled with sinkholes. This includes the largest on the planet - the Hellas Plain (width - 2300 km). But the northern hemisphere is younger, so there are much fewer craters there. Some volcanoes have several craters at once, which indicates their growth, as lava covers old depressions. Some of them show debris deposits around them that resemble hardened mudflows. It is necessary to explain to the children that this means that the meteorite could have fallen into ice or underground water.

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Many people say that Mars could become a future haven for humanity and that scientists are constantly preparing various missions to visit this planet. However, few people talk about how long it will take to reach the “Red Planet”. This will take 8 months. This is even longer than the stay of astronauts on the ISS (International Space Station). Moreover, it still takes 8 months for the astronauts to return home.

The best time to visit Mars is when it is at its shortest distance from Earth. This happened in 2003. At that time, the planets were only 56 million kilometers apart from each other. The maximum distance from Earth to Mars can be 401 million kilometers, which is 8 times more than the minimum.

The Mars Rover Team and Why They're So Important

Mars is a fascinating planet. Over the years, we've sent four robotic rovers, or rovers, to learn more about Mars. Mars rovers are designed to help scientists in their search. Rovers have wheels and are specialized for movement. They land on the surface and circle around various points.

Mars is made up of many different types of rocks, and each rock is made up of a mixture of chemicals. The rover can drive around different areas, studying different chemicals in each rock. These chemicals can tell scientists about the environment that changed the stone over time.

To date, 4 rovers have visited Mars. And this is not counting artificial satellites.

In the summer of 1997, Sojourner arrived on the surface of Mars. He was the first wheeled rover to visit the Red Planet. Unfortunately, due to the simplicity of the design, it only worked for a couple of months. However, he coped with the task.
In January 2004, Spirit and Opportunity arrived on Mars one after the other, both were sent with the goal of finding water on Mars. Both of them worked much longer than expected of them. But Opportunity worked the most. Most recently, he gained fame as the most dedicated Mars rover, working from 2004 to 2022.
In August 2012, Curiosity arrives, its goal is to search for life, sources of water and chemical elements. It is currently the largest and heaviest rover on Mars.

Starting in 2022, the team of rovers will be replenished with two autonomous rovers.

The Franklin rover, also known as ExoMars, is scheduled to launch in July 2022. The goal is to search for a former or currently existing life.
The Mars 2020 rover is expected to launch in August 2022. Its tasks will also include searching for signs of life and assessing the danger of Martian dust.

Mars is the popular and most studied planet. Interest in it arose in the Middle Ages and has not faded to this day. Exploring other worlds is one of the most interesting topics for little researchers. Did you guys learn some amazing facts today? We hope you enjoyed it! Do you know other interesting details about the planet? Share them with us in the comments!

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It hosts the largest dust storms in the solar system. Storms reach their peak at the moment when it is at its minimum distance from the Sun. Dust storms can last for months and spread across the entire planet at the same time. During dust storms, the temperature on it increases significantly, as the dust absorbs the heat of the Sun instead of reflecting it. These dust storms can pose a major problem for Mars rovers by blocking access to the Sun, preventing them from using solar panels to recharge themselves.

Questions and answers:

How big is the surface of Mars? — Its size is equal to the area of all the continents of the Earth taken together.

Mars is the farthest rocky planet from the Sun. It's very cold there - so why is there no ice on the planet? — There is ice on Mars. But this is not water, but “dry ice” - carbon dioxide that we exhale. But there is very little water, H2O, on the surface. All of it is hidden underground at the poles of Mars. In addition, fragments of ice rocks “travel” through the valleys and craters of the planet.

What's the youngest thing on Mars? “Every year the wind creates new patterns on the dusty surface of the planet. The seasonal cycle of freezing and thawing leaves behind much more unusual traces: round depressions, pyramids and even polygons of cracks, reminiscent of a map of city blocks. Landslides often occur on steep slopes of canyons and craters. There are also often ravines and hollows that seem to be washed out by water. While walking on Mars, you can also come across scatterings of small mounds. These are either the remains of stones thrown out by volcanoes, or hummocks of ice and mud. They are too small to be drawn on a map.

Pyramids and the “face” on Mars

Where do lava flows come from? — They flow from the tops (vents) of volcanoes or from deep cracks.

What is "sol"? — Sol is the name of the solar day on Mars. They last a little more than a day on Earth - 24 hours 39 minutes 35.2 seconds. A year on the planet is long—it takes 669 and a half sols to complete a revolution around the Sun.

Why are there black dots on the Martian dunes? — The dunes on the planet consist of black volcanic sand, which is covered with white frost in winter. In the spring, when the white cover evaporates, black sand gradually appears from under it. And since the melting occurs unevenly, the sand emerging through the frost looks like a scattering of black dots from above.

Where do the winding valleys on Mars come from? “Most likely, they were washed out by rivers or spring meltwater streams.

Where do canals come from on Mars? “These are cracks in the planet’s crust from which lava erupted. Channels could also be formed due to the movement of lithospheric plates. Here on Earth, this movement causes earthquakes.

What is a ridge? - This is a winding rock ridge on the surface of the planet. Ridges form when processes within a planet push plates of the planet's crust against each other, causing their rocks to pile on top of each other. Ridges are often associated with volcanic flows.

What is a "dust devil"? “This is a small vortex that moves along the surface of the planet, collecting light dust from it.

Dust devil on Mars

What do the flower-shaped icons on the map mean? “ This is a meteorite crater with sediment left over from the time the crater was formed. On Mars, fragments scattered from a meteorite impact may contain water. Mud from the water spreads around the crater, forming structures that resemble flowers from a bird's eye view.

Why is Mars red? — Red places on the planet are covered with tiny dust that settles from the air. The color of dust is given by rust - it contains many rusted iron particles. Dark places on the planet are filled with fresh volcanic sand, which is also red - but not as bright as in dusty areas. Bright places on Mars appear in winter - then the surface is shrouded in fog and frost. The polar caps of the planet, consisting of eternal ice, always remain white.

Is there air on Mars? — Yes, the planet has an atmosphere, but it is very rarefied compared to the atmosphere of our Earth. Nevertheless, the wind blows there - its strength is enough to carry sand and destroy rocks. Sometimes real sandstorms rage on Mars! Small clouds of dust and water vapor sometimes form.

Clouds on Mars

What are those black things you see in some of the craters? — These are dunes made of sand that was poured into the crater.

Do aliens live on Mars? — So far, no living creatures or traces of any life at all have been found on Mars.

Were the solar panels on the Phoenix probe broken by the Martians? — The solar panels were still working when the probe last communicated with Earth. They broke after the first winter - we managed to find out with the help of satellite images. Most likely, during the cold weather, so much frost settled on the solar panels that they could not bear the full weight and collapsed.

Why are the northern and southern parts of Mars colored differently on the map? — The color on the map indicates the unevenness of the planet’s surface. In the north there are low plains, and in the south there are hills densely strewn with craters.

Where did the spiders come from at the South Pole of Mars? — “Spiders” are systems of dark cracks on the surface of the planet that diverge from one common center. They appear in the spring, during the melting of “dry ice” at the poles. The black bedrock of Mars is then exposed. Since the ice at the pole is heated from the inside by the heat of the planet’s core, it can melt in winter, escaping from under the crust on the surface in columns of steam.

Spiders on Mars

What is cheese doing at the South Pole? — The icy surface of the pole is constantly evaporating, which is why it is very compressed. In some places this left round depressions, similar to holes in cheese. That's why these areas are called the Swiss Cheese Districts.

How did polygonal patterns appear on the northern plains of Mars? — The patterns are a network of broken cracks. They are formed during the freezing and thawing of the soil of Mars, when it cracks due to temperature changes.

Why are Martians green? — About 100 years ago, science fiction writers imagined that people with green skin lived on Mars, as opposed to the red surface of the planet. Although we now know that Martians do not exist, artists and filmmakers still depict aliens as green.

Where does sand and dust come from on Mars? “ They emerge from crushed rocks that are destroyed by wind, temperature changes, ice and water flows. The resulting sand will be played by the wind for millions of years - collecting it into heaps and dunes, and then scattering it back.

One of the Martian dunes

What are these white zones above and below Mars? — These are the polar ice caps. Their structure is similar to a cake - under a white cover their ice and dust alternate. The center of the ice cap will never melt, although entire valleys cut through it.

Where do camels come from on Mars? — There are two types of camels: one-humped and two-humped. Single-humped ones are found in the hot deserts of Africa, and double-humped ones are found in cold Asian deserts. It is the Bactrian camels that walk on the map: only they would be found on cold and dry Mars. But now there are no real camels on the planet.

Are there people on Mars? - Not yet. But it’s possible that they will be soon.

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In 2015, scientists discovered evidence that Mars had a huge ocean. It was also found that in some places the ocean reached a depth of 1.5 km. From this, scientists assumed that it once had a warm and humid climate, which could have supported life on the planet. Water on Mars now appears as ice on its polar caps. However, relatively recently, scientists discovered unfrozen water on this planet. It appears on the planet only in the summer, when the temperature reaches above zero, and they began to be considered even more as an alternative for the resettlement of humanity.

We also recommend reading: Description of the planet Pluto and interesting facts about it

Polar caps of Mars - explanation for children

From the poles, at distances up to 80 degrees latitude, extensive deposits of finely layered balls of water ice and dust can be seen. They could be deposited by the atmosphere for a long time. They are located on both hemispheres and on their tops one can see frozen ice that persists all year round.

South polar cap of Mars - view from above

In winter, additional seasonal caps appear, made of solid carbon dioxide (“dry ice” - condensed from carbon dioxide gas). In the harshest winter, this ball can extend from the poles to 45 degrees latitude (halfway to the equator). It looks like freshly fallen snow.

Mars in numbers

Mars is in fourth place in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun.

Mars is a small planet, it is only the seventh largest in our Galaxy. This planet is approximately 2 times smaller in size than Earth, and 10 times less in mass.

The approximate age of Mars corresponds to the age of the Galaxy - 4.5 billion years.

If the spacecraft sets off from Mars to Earth, it will have to fly approximately 228 million km.

The path from Mars to the Sun will be about 223 million km.

Mars is relatively far from the Sun, so the temperature of the planet is quite low - from +20° to -120°.

Planet Earth drawing for kids

Those who drew pictures of the sun with us made their work much easier. If you have not studied this tutorial, we recommend that you do so. This time we suggest working with regular pencils, but you will also need an eraser, a compass or a round object and an album.

If you have prepared all this, let's start creating:

Using a compass or an object with a round base, create a circle.

For these purposes we use a simple pencil. If the first time it was not possible to draw the ideal shape of a circle, erase the line and perform the steps again.
Starting from the upper left side, we draw the silhouettes of the continent of North America. It is advisable to carry out this step in a wavy segment. Below we draw the outlines of South America, it is advisable to narrow the distance in the center.
We continue to draw continents in the remaining places. You can use contour maps or an atlas for the sample. We figured out how to draw planet Earth this way. Now let's color the image.
We will use colored pencils for coloring. We color some places on all land areas orange. We darken them with a light brown pencil.
We continue to paint the land yellow. We paint the remaining places on it green. We highlight rivers and reservoirs in blue. We draw the main perimeter in blue. After finishing painting, we wet the brush and go over the surface of the image. This is necessary to smear the colors as much as possible.

There you go. We made sure that this creative process is also easy and a child can handle it. If you are a beginner, follow the instructions on our website megamaster.info.

How to Draw Planet Earth with Oil Pastels

We sorted out the drawings with pencils and felt-tip pens. Let's continue the lessons with paintings painted with oil pastels. In this method, the result will be beautiful and colorful. To organize this creative process you will need two simple pencils or a compass, an album and crayons.

If you're ready, let's start drawing:

Using a compass in the middle of the sheet, create a circle of sufficiently large size.

If you don’t have a compass, cut a strip of thick paper. Make holes at the edges with a diameter so that pencil leads can fit through. Find the middle of the sheet, place one pencil threaded through the paper at this mark. Place another pencil through another hole and begin to draw a circle.
Starting from the top side of the circle and moving downwards, draw a zigzag or wavy segment. By adding one more such line, we get a part of the land on the surface of the Earth. We draw the contours of the continents of our planet.
Next you need to color everything. We draw the outline with blue color and slightly paint over the lower left area. We paint the perimeter of the oceans and seas with blue pastels. We paint the middle white. Having completed this stage, take a rag or cotton wool and smooth these colors onto the surface to create a beautiful iridescence.
Let's add some more blue tint here. Using the same blue chalk we draw the outline of the remaining silhouette with water. Shade the painted space.
Use dark green chalk to draw the perimeter of the unpainted parts. Gradually moving towards the middle of these areas, apply a light green color, and highlight the middle with yellow.
Using a cotton swab, smooth out the colors evenly and outline all the waters with dark blue. Having completed these steps, we go along the border one more time, but this time we make a thicker line.
Next, use the darkest shade of green to outline the areas of the corresponding color. At this stage the drawing is completed.

Now you have learned how to depict planet Earth in all possible ways.

There are other interesting design options for Cosmonautics Day

Interesting Facts

The second name for Mars is “red planet”. It is so called because it is mainly composed of iron, which oxidizes when in contact with oxygen, which means it rusts. Strong storms spread rust particles over the entire surface, giving it an orange-red color.

The planet got its name due to the red color of its surface. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, the color red was a symbol of war, and they called the god of war Mars.

The names of the moons of Mars were also given in accordance with Greek and Roman mythology. Phobos and Deimos are the sons of the god Mars.

Surprisingly, the sky on Mars looks completely different. During the day it appears slightly reddish, but during sunrise or sunset the sun is illuminated in blue, but for us it’s the other way around. This occurs due to the absence of an atmosphere: light rays in such conditions are refracted in a special way.

General information about Mars

In our solar system, Mars ranks fourth in terms of distance from the Sun, and seventh in terms of its dimensions. This is the closest planet to us. Its approximate age is 4.5 billion years, like other planets in our Galaxy.

The planet got its name due to its bright red color. In Ancient Greece and Rome, the color red was associated with blood and war, so the name was given in honor of the god of war - Mars. Upon closer inspection, the surface color of Mars is more orange than red. This shade occurs due to the high content of iron oxide. Scientists suggest that contact with oxygen led to the oxidation of iron, and strong dust storms over time spread rusty particles across the entire surface.

Planet Mars brief description

Abstract of the educational activity "Travel to the planet Mars" for the preparatory group

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