Interesting Facts about Mars

The Egyptians gave Mars its first recorded name: Har dècher (“The Red One”). The Babylonians called it Nergal (“Star of Death”). The Greeks and Romans named the planet after their respective gods of war, Ares and Mars. The Hebrews called it Ma’adim, or “the one who blushes.” Many ancient people believed the reddish color came from actual blood on the planet.f

The month of March is named after Mars.

The symbol for Mars looks like a shield and a spear from the war god Mars/Ares. It is also the symbol for the male sex.

The ancient Greeks thought the Earth was the center of the Universe and that Mars was one of the five traveling stars that revolved around the Earth.

Mars gets its red color from the iron oxide (rust) in its soil

Egyptians called Mars the “the backward traveler” because Mars appeared to move backwards through the zodiac every 25.7 months.

Mars’ red color is due to iron oxide, also known as rust, and has the consistency of talcum powder. Literally, the metallic rocks on Mars are rusting.

The atmosphere (mostly made up of carbon dioxide) on Mars is so thin that water cannot exist in liquid form—it can exist only as water vapor or ice. Liquid water is considered for many scientists to be the “holy grail” of Mars.

No human could survive the low pressure of Mars. If you went to Mars without an appropriate space suit, the oxygen in your blood would literally turn into bubbles, causing immediate death.

If you were driving 60 mph in a car, it would take 271 years, 221 days to get to Mars from Earth.

Mars lacks an ozone layer; therefore, the surface of Mars is bathed in a lethal dose of radiation every time the sun rises