Mars is more than just a planet—it’s a windswept, rust-colored world glowing like an ember in the night sky, holding secrets of a long-lost past. Among the many fascinating Mars facts, imagine standing on its rugged surface, where low gravity makes you feel almost weightless. Each step stirs up a fine red dust, settling slowly as if time itself has paused.
During the day, the sky transforms into a soft butterscotch hue, but as the Sun sets, a magical phenomenon occurs—blue sunsets paint the horizon in eerie, otherworldly shades. At night, the tiny moons Phobos and Deimos drift silently across the sky, keeping watch over this enigmatic planet.
Mars is not just a barren desert; it has a tempestuous side! Dust storms whip across its surface, shrouding the planet in a swirling golden-red haze. Beneath its icy crust, hidden rivers may still lie dormant, waiting for their moment to flow once more.
Yet, the true allure of Mars lies in the dreams it ignites. For centuries, humans have gazed at its fiery glow, envisioning alien civilizations, ancient cities buried in sand, and the brave explorers who might one day tread its surface. Perhaps we will see habitats under its pinkish sky, plants nurtured in glass domes, and futuristic rovers racing across its dunes.
For now, Mars remains a silent, mysterious world, inviting dreamers, explorers, and storytellers alike. What secrets does it still hold? Let’s explore ten fun facts about this intriguing planet!
The Red Planet
Mars is called “The Red Planet” because of its rusty, reddish surface. The soil on Mars contains a lot of iron, and when this iron reacts with the small amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, it forms iron oxide—basically, rust! This rust-like dust covers the planet, giving it its signature red-orange glow when seen from space or through a telescope.
Interestingly, while Mars looks red from far away, if you were standing on its surface, you’d see more of a brownish, orange, or even butterscotch color depending on the lighting. The sky on Mars also plays tricks on the eyes—during the day, it looks a dusty yellowish color, but during sunset, it turns blue!
So, Mars isn’t just red—it’s a world of ever-changing colors, shaped by dust, light, and a little bit of cosmic magic.
It Snows on Mars
Mars experiences snowfall, but unlike Earth’s fluffy white snow, it falls in the form of dry ice. This fascinating fact about Mars is due to its atmosphere, which is mostly carbon dioxide (CO₂). When temperatures drop extremely low—sometimes reaching -125°C (-195°F)—this gas freezes and falls as solid carbon dioxide snowflakes. These snowflakes don’t melt like Earth’s snow; instead, they sublimate, meaning they turn directly from a solid into gas once the temperature rises.
In addition to dry ice snow, water-ice snow can also form on Mars, though it is much rarer. The planet has frozen water ice at its poles, and under the right conditions, tiny ice crystals can form in the thin clouds and fall toward the surface. However, because Mars has an extremely low atmospheric pressure, these snowflakes usually evaporate before they even reach the ground. In fact, Mars never gets a thick layer of powdery snow like Earth does.
One of the most interesting aspects of Martian snowfall is that it happens only at night. NASA’s orbiters have detected massive snowstorms of dry ice falling in the darkness, invisible to the human eye but captured using infrared sensors. These storms move quickly through the thin Martian air, creating a fast and intense blizzard-like effect. This unique Mars fact means that if someone were standing on Mars during one of these storms, they wouldn’t actually see the snow falling, but they might sense the cold and the eerie quiet of an alien winter.
Jump Higher on Mars
On Mars, you could jump much higher than on Earth due to the planet’s lower gravity. Mars has only about 38% of Earth’s gravity, which means you would weigh just a little more than a third of what you do here.
If you weigh, say, 100 pounds on Earth, you’d weigh only about 38 pounds on Mars. This lighter weight allows you to leap nearly three times higher. For example, a jump on Earth might reach about 1 foot (30 cm), but on Mars, you could jump as high as 3 feet (90 cm)—without even trying too hard!
This is because Mars’ gravity is weaker, so it pulls you down with much less force. The result is a bouncy, fun feeling as you float through the air a little longer than you would back home. In fact, astronauts would need to adjust their movements to avoid jumping too high and losing control! It would be an experience unlike anything we have on Earth.
Sunsets are Blue
On Mars, sunsets are blue, which is a strange and beautiful sight compared to Earth’s typical red and orange hues. This phenomenon happens because of the thin Martian atmosphere and the presence of dust particles that scatter the sunlight differently than on Earth.
On Earth, the sky appears blue during the day because of the way air molecules scatter shorter wavelengths of sunlight, like blue. As the sun sets, the light has to pass through more atmosphere, scattering shorter wavelengths and letting the longer red wavelengths dominate, creating the familiar red and orange sunsets. But on Mars, the atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide and filled with fine dust particles. This dust scatters the sunlight in a way that causes the shorter wavelengths—like blue and violet light—to linger longer as the sun dips below the horizon.
So, as the Sun sets on Mars, the light is diffused through the dust, and you get a cool, bluish glow on the horizon, creating a stunning, otherworldly sunset. The blue sunset of Mars is one of the many ways the planet feels completely alien to us, with its own set of natural rules that make it both mesmerizing and mysterious.
Largest Volcano in the Solar System
The largest volcano in the entire solar system is located on Mars, and it’s called Olympus Mons. This colossal volcano stands at a height of about 22 kilometers (13.6 miles)—that’s nearly three times the height of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth! This fascinating fact about Mars highlights just how extreme the planet’s geological features can be.
Olympus Mons is also wide, with a diameter of around 600 kilometers (370 miles), which is about the size of the state of New Mexico. It’s so big that it could cover the whole state of Hawaii and still have room left over! The reason Olympus Mons grew so large is because Mars has low gravity and a thinner atmosphere, which allows the lava to build up without being pushed down by heavier tectonic plates, like on Earth.
This giant volcano is shield-shaped, meaning it has a broad, gently sloping profile, which is typical for volcanoes that erupt mostly lava, rather than explosive eruptions. The lava that flowed from Olympus Mons likely spread out over vast areas, slowly building up the massive structure over millions of years.
Despite its size, Olympus Mons is extinct, meaning it’s no longer active. But it remains one of the most awe-inspiring features of Mars, a reminder of the planet’s violent volcanic past. This Mars fact showcases the incredible forces that once shaped the Red Planet.
Mars has two Moons
Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are quite different from Earth’s single, large moon. These moons are tiny and irregularly shaped, more like asteroids than the spherical moons we’re used to seeing in our night sky.
Phobos
The larger and closer of the two moons, is only about 22 kilometers (14 miles) wide. It orbits Mars extremely fast, taking just about 7 hours and 39 minutes to complete one orbit around the planet. This means that Phobos rises in the west and sets in the east, which is the opposite of how the Sun moves across the sky. Phobos is also slowly getting closer to Mars, and over the next 50 million years, it might either crash into the planet or break apart to form a ring system around Mars.
Deimos
On the other hand, is smaller and farther away. At only about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) wide, Deimos takes much longer to orbit Mars—about 30.3 hours. Unlike Phobos, Deimos is drifting farther away from Mars over time. Both moons are believed to be captured asteroids, meaning they likely didn’t form with Mars but were instead pulled in by its gravity millions of years ago.
These moons might seem unimportant compared to our Moon, but their strange, irregular orbits and small sizes make them fascinating in their own way, adding another layer of mystery to the Red Planet.
Time Flies on Mars
Time on Mars moves slower than on Earth, but the difference isn’t quite as dramatic as you might think. A day on Mars, known as a “sol,” is just a little longer than an Earth day. A Martian sol is about 24 hours and 39 minutes, which means the day is almost the same length as an Earth day, just slightly longer. This small difference can mess with your sense of time if you were on Mars for an extended period, as you’d find yourself going to bed a little later each day!
However, a year on Mars is much longer. A full Martian year takes 687 Earth days, almost twice as long as one year on Earth. This is because Mars is farther from the Sun, so it takes longer to complete its orbit. For anyone planning to spend a year on Mars, that would feel like nearly two Earth years, with seasons lasting almost twice as long.
Interestingly, time on Mars would affect everything from calendars to how astronauts might plan their days. If we ever colonize Mars, we might need to adjust our Earthly way of keeping time, creating a Mars calendar or adjusting to the slightly off-schedule days and years. It’s a whole new way of measuring time on an alien world!
Mars Once Had Water
Mars once had water, and there’s strong evidence that it flowed across the surface in the past, creating rivers, lakes, and possibly even an ocean. Scientists believe that in the planet’s distant past, Mars had a much thicker atmosphere and a warmer climate, allowing liquid water to exist on the surface. The evidence lies in features like dry riverbeds, ancient lakebeds, and mineral deposits that form only in the presence of water.
One of the most striking signs of Mars’ watery past is Valles Marineris, a massive canyon system that stretches over 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles). The canyon’s shape suggests it could have been carved by water erosion, much like how rivers shape Earth’s valleys. Similarly, the presence of clay minerals and hydrated salts found in some Martian soil samples suggests that liquid water once flowed on the surface long enough to leave behind these telltale signs.
There’s also the question of Mars’ northern hemisphere, which seems to be a giant basin that could have once held an ocean. Some scientists believe that water might have once covered a significant portion of the planet, especially in the northern lowlands.
Today, however, most of the water on Mars is trapped in the form of ice at the poles or hidden beneath the surface, and the planet’s thin atmosphere isn’t able to support liquid water in the same way Earth does. Still, the fact that Mars once had water is one of the most exciting discoveries, as it raises the possibility that the planet may have supported microbial life in the past—or could again in the future if conditions change.
Mars has massive dust storms
Mars is no stranger to massive dust storms, and they can be truly intense. These storms can cover the entire planet, sometimes lasting for weeks or even months. The Martian atmosphere is so thin that winds are not strong enough to stir up massive storms like on Earth, but the fine dust particles that make up the Martian surface can be lifted and blown around much more easily.
What makes these dust storms so fascinating is their ability to shroud the entire planet. In fact, one remarkable Mars fact is that these storms can raise dust high into the atmosphere, where it can remain suspended for weeks, changing the sky’s appearance from its typical reddish hue to a more yellowish-brown or orange tone.
Interestingly, while these dust storms are incredibly powerful, they don’t bring rain like Earth’s storms. Instead, the dust particles just swirl around, sometimes causing visibility to drop to almost zero. The storms can also affect Mars exploration missions, as they can interfere with solar-powered rovers, like NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance, by blocking out sunlight.
Though they’re a challenge for missions on Mars, these storms also help scientists understand the planet’s atmosphere and climate patterns. This fascinating fact about Mars highlights how its dust holds key answers to the planet’s weather system and how its atmosphere might have changed over time.
Inhabited by robots!
Mars might not be inhabited by humans just yet, but it’s definitely inhabited by robots! Over the years, we’ve sent a variety of robotic explorers to Mars to study the planet, gather data, and even search for signs of life. These robots are our eyes and ears on the Martian surface, performing tasks that humans simply can’t do in the harsh environment of Mars—at least, not yet.
Some of the most well-known robots on Mars include rovers like Curiosity, Perseverance, and Opportunity, along with the stationary InSight lander. These rovers and landers have been exploring the surface, sending back incredible photos, analyzing the soil, and drilling into the ground to look for clues about the planet’s past. For example, Perseverance is currently on Mars searching for signs of ancient life and collecting samples to be returned to Earth in the future.
In addition to rovers, there are also orbiters like MAVEN and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that circle the planet from above, mapping the surface, studying the atmosphere, and even relaying communications back to Earth.
While these robots aren’t exactly “alive,” they have become vital companions in our exploration of Mars. They send back priceless information about the planet’s weather, geology, and history, and they’ll play an essential role in the future of human exploration, paving the way for eventual human missions to the Red Planet.
In a way, robots are already the true inhabitants of Mars, taking on the important task of exploring and learning about the planet until we can send humans to join them.
The 4 Rovers on Mars
While Opportunity and Spirit are no longer operational, Curiosity and Perseverance are still active and contributing a wealth of knowledge to our understanding of Mars. These rovers continue to shape the future of Martian exploration!
Perseverance
Launched in 2020, Perseverance is currently exploring the Jezero Crater, searching for signs of ancient life and collecting samples to be returned to Earth in the future.
Curiosity
Landed in 2012, Curiosity has been studying the Gale Crater, focusing on the planet’s climate, geology, and whether it could have supported microbial life in the past.
Opportunity
Launched in 2003, Opportunity worked for nearly 15 years on Mars. Unfortunately, the rover was lost during a dust storm in 2018. It operated far beyond its expected lifespan, covering over 45 kilometers (28 miles).
Spirit
Also launched in 2003 alongside Opportunity, Spirit explored the Gusev Crater but became stuck in 2009. Despite efforts to free it, NASA declared Spirit lost in 2011. It provided valuable data during its mission.
