Mars!!

     Hello everyone, and welcome to... Meapz4Science! Today we will talk about one planet that has captivated and confused the minds of many. It has baffled scientist leaving them scratching their heads. It is... Mars! Yep, today we will talk about the red planet and all of its cool features.

     Let's talk about its origin first. Mars was named after the Roman god of War. He is similar to the Greek god Ares. However, Mars is honored and worshiped more than Ares. Mars is said to be the son of Juno and Jupiter, such as Ares was the son of Hera and Zeus. I could put more, but that would be a LOT, so I'll stop there.

     Okay, now let's talk about the planet's geography. Mars is the most similar planet to Earth in the whole solar system. Mars is the fourth planet to the sun, while being the closest planet to Earth. It is known as the red planet because that literally is what is. It is a red planet. It's ground is rich in iron, which makes it red. And like Earth, Mars has ice caps, seasons, and dust devils! However, it is still horrible to support life. It is a cold desert. On Mars, the average temperature is -55 degrees Celsius! THAT is cold! It still has similarities, though.

     Like Earth, Mars has moons. It has two, named Phobos and Deimos. Scientists think they might be asteroids that got caught in Mars' orbit. Scientists also think there might be life on Mars, and they have some evidence to back their statements up.

     While looking at Mars through telescopes, Italian scientists found river-like structures on the surface of Mars, suggesting there might have been water. They called them channels, but they were mis-translated as canals. Everyone took that as proof that aliens lived on Mars.

Everyone imagined a huge metropolis on Mars like this:

But sadly, when scientists got pictures back from spacecraft, They got this:

 

     *Sigh* The truth isn't always what you want it to be.  Still, they didn't give up exploring and still have not. In fact, a rover called Curiosity is going to Mars to find out more. It will take over eight months to reach Mars, but hopefully it will be worth it. Curiosity will take rock samples and study the land to find out if Mars could have ever supported life. Well, that's all for today. I'm Emma The Meap, and I will see you next time. PEACE!!!