Mars is one of the most Earth-like planets in the solar system. Both are rock type, they have relatively close orography and occupy a very similar position relative to the Sun.

It is also a planet that, while complex life is not possible on its surface, at least not in the traditional form that we know, is not particularly hostile, especially when compared to others such as Venus, which does have some Earth-like features as well is a real hell where even sulfuric acid rain.

Mars could easily host human colonies if adapted to the needs of our species, a reality that has made it a priority target for space exploration and manned missions.

Thanks to this, we have a lot of information today, and you probably think you know everything about our red neighbor, but do you really? We invite you to test yourself with them ten curiosities about Mars you may not have known about.

1.- His name is the same as the Roman god of war

Our red neighbor was named after the Roman god of war, Mars, an honor he achieved precisely because of his reddish color.

In ancient cultures, red identified with blood and that with war, although in other cultures, such as China, it is known as the “fiery star”.

Others, such as the Egyptian culture, knew him as “red”.

2.- Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system

Although, as we said, it has an orography very similar to Earth, Mars is home to the largest volcano in our solar system, Mount Olympus, which is a real rarity.

Its height is around 23 kilometers, i.e. 23,000 meters, and has a diameter of 600 kilometers.

For an idea on Earth, Mount Everest is the highest and barely reaches 8,848 metersi.e. less than 9 kilometers.

3.- You would be much lighter on Mars

The gravity on Mars is 37% of what we have on Earth, meaning that a 100 kilogram person would feel as if they were 37 kilograms.

Yes, your mass and your body would remain the same as on Earth, you wouldn’t miraculously lose weight or anything, but by reducing gravity you would weigh less.

This means you could jump higher and further and move more nimbly across its surface.

4.- A year on Mars lasts 687 Earth days

On Earth, a year is equal to 365 days, which is the time it takes for our planet to complete its translational motion around the Sun.

Well, on Mars, the same movement is completed 687 daysmeaning that one Martian year is almost equivalent to two Earth years, due to its greater distance from the Sun.

However, Martian days are only 37 minutes longer than earth days.

5.- Mars is recovering from the ice age

Thanks to new studies that have been carried out on the surface of Mars and the use of advanced techniques with numerous sensors and devices, it has been found that the planet is still transitioning from an ice age.

The ice age happened a few years ago. 400,000 years, and as a result, Mars has become a terrain that is as dry as it is icy, or in other words frozen desert.

6.- It is much smaller than the Earth

The “god of war” planet has a diameter 6,779 kilometersa figure that is almost twice the size of the Moon but is deep below the Earth.

Our blue planet has a diameter of 12,742 kilometersmeaning it is twice the size of Mars and also has nine times the mass.

7.- Mars has almost the same landmass as Earth

We said our planet does nine times more massive than Marsbut if we limit ourselves to terrestrial content, the two planets are very similar.

There is a large amount of gases and elements in a liquid state on Earth, which, however, do not occur on Mars.

To understand it better, just remember it 70% the earth’s surface is covered with water.

8.- There is water on Mars, even if it is not directly drinkable

Again, thanks to the latest studies and missions that have been carried out on the red planet, we have been able to confirm that there is water on Mars and that it would be mainly concentrated at its poles and below the Earth.

However the rest of the water is not drinkable directly, as they are estimated to have very high concentrations of minerals and would therefore require a prior purification process.

9.- The atmosphere of Mars is 100 times less dense

Compared to Earth’s atmosphere, the Martian atmosphere has density almost 100 times lowermeaning that it barely filters out ionizing radiation and that its surface is almost like a vacuum.

To this we must add that it is almost entirely formed carbon dioxide, meaning it is not breathable for humans or any mammal that inhabits the earth.

It is estimated that a human exposed without a space suit on the surface of Mars would lose consciousness in about 20 seconds and die in about a minute.

10.- Mars would have been habitable in the past

The terraforming theory of Mars is one of the most interesting that is still held today, and it assures that our now sandy and empty neighbor was in the distant past a fertile, green planet with large oceans on the surface.

The possibility of the preservation of microscopic life forms on the planet is currently being considered, which has been strengthened after discovery and study meteorite Shergott, and more recently after the most recent discovery of the Perseverance probe.

11.- Unlike the Earth, it has two moons

And both have become so popular that they have a strong presence in science fiction literature and cinema as well as video games, in fact both are moons part of the quest of the first DOOM.

The moons of Mars are called Deimos and Phobos. The first has an irregular shape which in many ways it resembles potatoes, and the other also has an irregular shape, but with more rounded nuances. It also differs in having a huge crater on one side.

Phobos is the largest of the two moons of Mars, orbits very close planet and represents the important curiosity that it is step by step it falls apart because of the fractures it suffered some time ago with another cosmic body, which left the huge crater we can see on its right side.

12.- Sunlight arrives in just 13 minutes

Mars is at an average distance 228 million kilometers from the Sun. We are talking about approximate values, because this distance changes depending on the moment in which we make the measurement, since this planet orbits the Sun and is not always at the same distance from it.

This is equivalent to 1.5 astronomical units of distance from the Sun and allows us to calculate that the light will take a total 13 minutes to reach Mars. Since Mars is further from the Sun than Earth, it takes longer for the light to arrive, but the difference is very small.

For comparison, I remind you that the Earth is about 150 million kilometers from the Sun and that light takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach our planet. The difference with Mars is only 4 minutes and 40 seconds.

13.- Mars has seasons, just like Earth

This is another of the details that makes our orange neighbor so similar to Earth. Mars has an axis of rotation, i.e with a slope of 25 degrees relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun, while that of Earth is tilted by 23.4 degrees.

As we can see, the difference between the two is minimal and this tilt of the rotation axis causes Mars to have different seasons. However, this must be taken into account the seasons on Mars last longer than on Earth because it is further from the Sun The shape of its orbit around the Sun also affects this sense, which is more elliptical and oval.

The longest season on Mars is spring in the northern hemisphere, which It can last up to 194 Martian days. Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere is the shortest season lasting 142 Martian days. Winter in the Northern Hemisphere lasts 154 Martian days, and summer in the same hemisphere lasts 178 Martian days.

14.- He doesn’t have rings, but he could get them

And in quite a tragic way, really. Scientists believe that within 50 million years Phobos will collapse and hits the planet’s surface. The consequences of this impact have not yet been fully estimated, as the theory that the moon will eventually break into pieces first has not been ruled out.

In any case, scientists are fairly certain that all or part of Phobos will end up impacting Mars creating a large ring of dust around the planet, making it the only rocky planet in our solar system with rings.

The only planets in our solar system that have rings at this time are Saturn, which is the one with the largest amount Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

15.- The temperature fluctuates a lot

And this complicates future colonization by human beings, to which is added its thin and unbreathable atmosphere. The temperature on Mars may be rising from 20 degrees Cideal temperature for life, to extremes 153 degrees below zero.

Because the planet’s atmosphere is so thin, the sun’s heat escapes very easily, which is the opposite of what happens on Venus. The temperature oscillation is so pronounced that, according to NASA, if we were on the surface in the equatorial region of the planet we would feel a temperature of 24 degrees C in our feet and 0 degrees C in our head.

With these values, it is clear that we would need them sheds with high thermal capacity in order to colonize the planet in the future, and this requires significant investment.

Images courtesy of NASA and ESA.