PlanetSolar system
Mars
The red planet: a cold desert shaped by ancient rivers and volcanoes, explored on the ground by NASA’s rovers and from orbit by a fleet of spacecraft.
- Planet type
- Terrestrial
- Mean radius
- 3,389.5 km
- Distance from the Sun
- 1.52 AU · 227.9 million km
- Day length
- 24 h 37 min
- Orbital period
- 687 Earth days
- Surface temperature
- About −125 to 20 °C
- Moons
- 2, Phobos and Deimos
- Atmosphere
- Thin carbon dioxide
Rover explorer
Choose a mission below to wander through landscapes photographed from the surface of Mars.
Images and metadata from the NASA Image and Video Library
Recent publications
| Year | Paper | Journal | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Diverse organic-mineral associations in Jezero crater, Mars | Nature | DOI |
| 2025 | Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars | Nature | DOI |
| 2026 | Spatially distributed complex organic matter detected in an ancient river valley in Jezero crater, Mars | Science Advances | DOI |
| 2022 | Aqueously altered igneous rocks sampled on the floor of Jezero crater, Mars | Science | DOI |
| 2025 | Martian atmospheric disturbances from orbital images and surface pressure at Jezero Crater, Mars | JGR Planets | DOI |
Compiled 20 October 2026. Links resolve to the publisher DOI record.
Worth knowing
Olympus Mons is the tallest volcano in the Solar System.
Its red colour comes from oxidised iron, essentially rust.
Phobos is spiralling inward and will eventually break apart.
Recommended pop-science media
-
Ultimate Mars Challenge (2012) | Full Documentary PBS America · NOVA
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10 Years On Mars: The Full Journey ElderFox Documentaries
Videos are embedded from YouTube and load only when you open a card.