Mars is Earth’s neighbor. It is farther out from the sun than Earth is. Mars is about half the size of Earth. Many people call Mars the Red Planet. Why? Because it’s red! It has a lot of iron on its surface. That’s what makes it red. Mars has two moons. These moons are named Phobos and Deimos. They are small and uneven.
Mars is like Earth in some ways. Mars has seasons, volcanoes, and canyons. Also, a day on Mars is about as long as a day on Earth.
But Mars is also different from Earth in some important ways. Mars is much colder than Earth. Also, one year on Mars is 687 Earth days. That means it takes 687 days for Mars to go around the sun.
Scientists have learned that there were floods on Mars a long, long time ago. Now, water only exists there in icy dirt and clouds. But scientists want to keep studying this planet. They have sent rovers to Mars. Rovers are robots that take detailed pictures and collect rocks or dirt. This will help us all learn more about one of our neighboring planets!
