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The Egyptians called Mars 'Her Desher', which means 'the red one'.
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Chinese astronomers called Mars 'the fire star'.
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The ancient Greeks called Mars 'Ares'.
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Galileo Galilei was the first person to view Mars with a telescope.
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Mars appears to be red because of the high level of iron in the soil, giving it a rusty hue.
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Mars weighs 641,693,000,000,000 billion kg. This is equal to 0.107 times earth's mass.
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Mars' circumference is 21,297 km.
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An object weighing one hundred pounds on earth would weigh 38 pounds on Mars.
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It takes Mars 687 earth days to orbit the sun.
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One day on Mars is approximately one half hour longer than one day on earth.
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Most of Mars' atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide.
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The tallest volcano in our solar system is 15 miles high and is located on Mars. Its name is Olympus Mons. It is three times as tall as Mount Everest.
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Mars has seasons similar to those on earth.
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On Mars, there are poles like our north and south poles. They are covered in ice and the ice gets thicker in the winter.
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Although there is no surface water on Mars now, the valleys and canyons on the planet suggest that there once was surface water like there is on earth.
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Because of the lack of atmospheric pressure, water can't exist in a liquid form. It can exist in a gaseous state.
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Mars has two moons, and one, Phobos, is slowly moving towards Mars. It is believed that one day it will hit Mars.
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The average temperature on Mars is -60 degrees Celsius, but they vary much more at the poles and equator, much like on earth.
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When a dust storm occurs on Mars it can cover the entire planet and last for months.
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There have been many spacecraft sent to Mars by various countries, including Japan, the U.S., Europe and the Soviet Union.
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In total there have been 39 Mars missions (not including flybys), the first being Marsnik 1, sent by the USSR in 1960. Only 16 of these missions have been successful.
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The first successful Mars landing occurred in 1976 when NASAs Viking 1 landed and took photos of the planet's surface.
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Many scientific experiments have been done to determine if there is life on Mars. There is still no proof of life, but many believe there is a good possibility that there was once life on Mars.
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Pieces of Mars have been found on earth, blasted from Mars during cosmic events.
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Some believe that there is life on Mars today.
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