TOP 10 FACTS ABOUT THE RED PLANET

By Khushi thakur JULY 13, 2024

The Red Planet

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Mars is one of the "bright" planets, viewable to the naked eye in the sky. Mars is one of the most studied planets in our solar system, and it is the only one where humans have dispatched rovers to explore the alien surface.

NASA Mission

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NASA missions have uncovered substantial evidence indicating that Mars was once much wetter and warmer, with a thicker atmosphere, billions of years ago.

Martian Landscape

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Today it is frequently called the "Red Planet"because iron minerals in the Martian dirt oxidize, or rust, causing the surface to look red.

Who Discovered Mars?

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Galileo Galilei, an astronomer, was the first person to observe Mars through a telescope. He made the first accurate observations of the planet in 1610.

How Did Galileo Galilei Discovered Mars

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He saw little more than a brilliant disk. During his year-long observations, he noticed that Mars became larger and smaller in his telescope as it approached and distanced itself.

Rover That Reached First

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Between the years of 1962 and 1973, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed and constructed ten spacecraft called Mariner to investigate the inner solar system. One of these, Mariner 4, was successfully launched on November 28, 1964, embarking on an eight-month journey to Mars.

Spacecraft Captures

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These spacecraft captured high-resolution photographs of Mars, revealing its iconic red surface.

Discoveries On Mars

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Within a century, astronomers identified various albedo features on Mars, such as the dark region known as Syrtis Major Planum and the polar ice caps.

When Discovery Was Done 

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These observations were primarily made during the time intervals when the planet was located in opposition to the Sun, at that points Mars made its closest approaches to the Earth.

First Map Of Mars

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The first crude map of Mars was produced in 1840, which contributed greatly to the study of the Red Planet. This original map gave a basic representation of Martian surface features as seen via telescopes of the time.