Mars is one of the planets most similar to Earth of all those that exist in our solar system: rocky, with a very similar orography and with a similar position with respect to our star, the Sun.
Considering that our neighboring red planet may host human colonies in the future, it is not surprising that interest in Mars has grown and has become the target of space agencies and private companies.
The name of Mars comes from the Roman god of war due to its reddish color that in ancient culture was identified with blood and this in turn with war.
As a curiosity, Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system. It is Mount Olympus, which boasts a height of about 23,000 meters and a diameter of 600 kilometers. Compared to Mount Everest (8,848 meters high), Mount Olympus seems exceptionally colossal.
How much would we weigh on Mars? Gravity on Mars is equivalent to 37% that of Earth, so if we weighed 100 kilograms, on this planet we would be much lighter: 37 kgs. Logically, it is not that going to Mars makes you lose weight, but that by having less gravity, we would also weigh less.
How long is the Martian year? The terrestrial year has a usual duration of 365 days, since the Martian year lasts 687 terrestrial days, which is equivalent to almost two years on Earth due to its greater distance from the sun.
This is not the only difference from our planet. Mars is considerably smaller than Earth: it has a diameter of 6,779 kilometers , well below Earth, which is 12,742 kilometers in diameter. However, Mars has almost the same land mass as Earth. How is it possible? The Earth has 9 times more mass than Mars but remember that 70% of our surface is covered with water.
The atmosphere of the red planet also differs from ours. On Mars, the atmosphere is almost 100 times less dense than Earth’s and is made up almost entirely of carbon dioxide. This would mean that breathing directly into the Martian atmosphere would lead to certain death in just one minute.
