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Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. Mars is extremely cold,
and like the earth it has ice caps on its poles. Much of the ice is
carbon dioxide, or dry ice, but the thickness of the ice makes
scientists believe that there are also thick layers of water ice in
the ice caps. Dry riverbeds on the planet indicate that Mars was
once warm enough to have liquid water. Sometimes Mars is called the
red planet; this is because the planet's soil has so much iron in it
that it is red. The surface of Mars is covered with craters from
meteorites and asteroids, and Mars has some of the tallest volcanoes
and deepest valleys in our solar system. Mars also has two
potato-shaped moons; the moons were probably once asteroids that
were captured by Mars' gravitational pull. We have a little bit of
Mars right here on Earth; some of the meteorites that have hit the
earth are pieces of Mars.
Things to remember about Mars:
- Mars is the fourth planet from the sun.
- Mars is extremely cold.
- Once there was liquid water on Mars.
- Mars has two moons.
- Earth has been hit by “Martian meteorites.”
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