Time to get to know the "Red" Planet a little bit better.

In order to understand the planet you are going to be colonizing it is a good idea to do a
little research comparing the Mars to Earth.

Mars

Earth

Length of Day (rotation)

24.6 hours

23 hours, 56 minutes

Length of Year (revolution)

1.88 years

365 days, 5 hours

Distance from Sun

227 million km averaged 149 million km averaged

Diameter (Size)

6,785 km

12,753 km

Number of Satellites
(moons)

2 moons

1 moon

Composition of Atmosphere

95% Carbon Dioxide,

5% Nitrogen

Water vapor, methane,

carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxide, ozone and
nitrogen.

Layers of Atmosphere

Exosphere,
Mesosphere,
Troposphere.

Troposphere, Stratosphere,
Mesosphere,
thermosphere, and
Exosphere

Average Temperature of the

Surface (C)

64.5 degrees celsius on

average

16 degrees celsius.

Average Gravitational Pull

(Gravity)

3.7 m/s

9.8050 m/s2

Tilt of Axis in degrees

(Seasons)

25.0

23.50

Thickness of layers of the

planet

Measured in km:
Crust: 0-50
Mantle: 59-2900
Outer Core: 2900-5200
Inner Core: 5200-6700

Measured in km:
Crust: 0-40
Upper Mantle: 40-400
Transition Region: 400-650
Lower Mantle: 650- 2700
D layer: 2700- 2890
Outer Core: 2890-5150
Inner Core: 5150-6378

Composition of Crust

Basalt, Sodium,
Potassium, Chloride and
Magnesium.
(percentages
unavailable)

Oxygen: 46.6%
Silicon: 27.7%
Aluminum: 8.1%
Iron: 5.0%
Calcium: 3.6%
Potassium: 2.8%
Sodium: 2.6%
Magnesium: 2.1%

Possible Natural Resources

Carbon Dioxide, Iron,

and Metals.

Light, air, water, plants,

animals, soil, stone,
minerals, and fuels such as
coal and gasoline.

Tectonic Plate Movement

It appears to have
halted.

A mix of seven major and

many minor plates make up
Earth. They are constantly
in motion, and cause
seismicity.

Volcanic Activity

Many very active

volcanoes along the
surface of mars.

Volcanoes emerge through

cracks in the crust and form
new crust through these
areas.

Links for research:

http://www.windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/planets.html
http://nineplanets.org/

Post research questions:

Based on your research, how does Mars compare to the Earth?

Mars is small, barren, almost obsolete in terms of life and tectonically halted.
Earth is overflowing with life, tectonically active, and is the largest of the terrestrial
planets in this solar system.
How would your life on Mars be different than on Earth?

Life on Mars would be very lonely, very barren and very exciting when a new
discovery is made.

How do you plan to adapt to the different length of day and year?

I plan to have a clock in every basic dwelling that rings an electric bell and sends
out a signal to every active space suit that it is time to sleep or time to wake at what
would be 8:00pm at night on Earth and 7:30am in the morning.
Do you think that Mars is capable of sustaining human life?

I think on its own, Mars could never sustain human life. With technology from
Earth, I think it is possible to sustain life on Mars.
Which resources do you plan on exploiting when you get there? Make a list;

-mainly iron and and carbon resources because not only are they very plentiful, but
mixed together, they make steel.
-also carbon dioxide because it can be purified to oxygen.
What will you use them for, be specific?

See question above.