The Story of Mars
Mars is called the *Red Planet* because of all the iron oxide dust on its surface — basically rust.
*Quick facts:*
- *Size*: About half the size of Earth
- *Day*: 24.6 hours. Almost like ours
- *Year*: 687 Earth days
- *Temperature*: Avg -60°C. Can hit 20°C at the equator at noon, and -125°C at the poles
- *Sky*: Looks butterscotch during the day, and blue near the sun at sunset
### *What we’ve learned from photos*
1. *It had water*: River valleys, lake beds, and dried deltas. NASA rovers like Perseverance and Curiosity found rocks that only form in water
2. *Huge volcanoes*: Olympus Mons is 3x taller than Mount Everest
3. *Big storms*: Planet-wide dust storms can cover all of Mars for months
4. *Rovers living there*: Curiosity, Perseverance, and Ingenuity the helicopter have been sending back photos since 2012
Scientists think Mars might have had microbes billions of years ago. That’s why every mission now is hunting for signs of ancient life.
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