This is another similarity with Earth, which has an axial tilt of 23.4 degrees. Mars' axis of rotation is tilted 25 degrees with respect to the plane of its orbit around the Sun.
Martian days are called sols – short for "solar day." A year on Mars lasts 669.6 sols, which is the same as 687 Earth days. Orbit and RotationĪs Mars orbits the Sun, it completes one rotation every 24.6 hours, which is very similar to one day on Earth (23.9 hours). From this distance, it takes sunlight 13 minutes to travel from the Sun to Mars. One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU), is the distance from the Sun to Earth. If Earth were the size of a nickel, Mars would be about as big as a raspberry.įrom an average distance of 142 million miles (228 million kilometers), Mars is 1.5 astronomical units away from the Sun. With a radius of 2,106 miles (3,390 kilometers), Mars is about half the size of Earth. Instead, they're looking for signs of life that existed long ago, when Mars was warmer and covered with water. Scientists don't expect to find living things currently thriving on Mars. Other civilizations also named the planet for this attribute – for example, the Egyptians called it "Her Desher," meaning "the red one." Even today, it is frequently called the "Red Planet" because iron minerals in the Martian dirt oxidize, or rust, causing the surface to look red.
Mars was named by the ancient Romans for their god of war because its reddish color was reminiscent of blood. Go farther: Mars exploration and missions >
Mars is one of the easiest planets to spot in the night sky – it looks like a bright red point of light.ĭespite being inhospitable to humans, robotic explorers – like NASA's new Perseverance rover – are serving as pathfinders to eventually get humans to the surface of the Red Planet. The fourth planet from the Sun, Mars is one of Earth's two closest planetary neighbors (Venus is the other).
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Mars Geologic GIS Data: Download GIS data and view sample imagery.Mars is no place for the faint-hearted. For additional Mars topography resources, visit the USGS Astrogeology Geomatics Group. Mars Topography Data: Download data, view sample imagery, and get information on published maps related to the Mars Transverse Mercator Map (MTM). More Maps of Mars Download and print maps of Mars created by the USGS To buy this map online, visit the USGS Store and search for Product Number 115419. Map of Mars: Interactive map of Mars with a variety of information available for viewing, such as topography and geology.Map-a-Planet 2: Custom map projected global or clipped mosaics for download.Smith, D.E., Zuber, M.T., Frey, H.V., Garvin, J.B., Head, J.W., Muhleman, D.O., Pettengill, G.H., Phillips, R.J., Solomon, S.C., Zwally, H.J., Banerdt, W.B., Duxbury, T.C., Golombek, M.P., Lemoine, F.G., Neumann, G.A., Rowlands, D.D., Aharonson, O., Ford, P.G., Ivanov, A.B., McGovern, P.J., Abshire, J.B., Afzal, R.S., and Sun, X., 2001, Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA): Experiment Summary after the First Year of Global Mapping of Mars, in Journal of Geophysical Research, v.
Seidelmann (Chair), P.K., Abalakin, V.K., Bursa, M., Davies, M.E., De Bergh, C., Lieske, J.H., Oberst, J., Simon, J.L., Standish, E.M., Stooke, P., and Thomas, P.C., 2002, Report Of The IAU/IAG Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements of the Planets, and Satellites: 2000, in Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, v. 34, part 4, GeoSpatial Theory, Processing and Applications, Ottawa. Maps produced prior to 2002 (except for products produced by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team (Smith and others 2001)) used the planetographic latitude with west longitude system, so this system is being retained in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature for reference.ĭuxbury, T., Kirk, R.L., Archinal, B.A., and Neumann, G.A., 2002, Mars Geodesy/Cartography Working Group Recommendations on Mars Cartographic Constants and Coordinate Systems, in ISPRS, v. Planetocentric latitude with east longitude has been adopted for use by the USGS and other organizations for use in making future Mars maps and imagery (Duxbury and others 2002). Planetographic latitude with west longitude is the system that has traditionally been used for Mars, and was previously the only system used on this web site. Both systems are approved for use on Mars by the International Astronomical Union (Seidelmann and others 2002). You can now view the coordinates for Mars in two different systems: planetographic latitude with longitude increasing to the west, or planetocentric latitude with longitude increasing to the east. For more detailed information about planetary nomenclature see Introduction to Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
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