Mars: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026

News •

Comets may have destroyed life's ingredients instead of delivering them to Earth • Nov. 10, 2026, 4:03 AM ET (Science Daily)

NASA’s CHAPEA Mars crew finally emerges after more than a year in isolation • Nov. 10, 2026, 12:02 AM ET (Science Daily)

Jupiter and Mars are set for a breathtaking close approach later this week: Here's how to see it • Nov. 9, 2026, 5:00 PM ET (Space)

Mysterious gas leaks suggest Mars may still be volcanically alive • Nov. 7, 2026, 8:11 PM ET (Science Daily)

On this day in space! Nov. 7, 1992: NASA launches Mars Global Surveyor, its 1st Mars mission in 20 years at the time, to map the Red Planet like never before • Nov. 7, 2026, 11:31 AM ET (Space)

Photos and Videos

Diagram showing Mars's orbit around the Sun with four positions illustrating its axial tilt of 24.9 degrees and the resulting Martian seasons: northern winter and summer, northern spring and fall, and their southern hemisphere counterparts. The orbit highlights points nearest and farthest from the Sun, with arrows indicating the direction of revolution.

Mars: last day of spring

Diagram showing two views of Mars with labeled features, including dark regions shaped by wind, the volcano Olympus Mons, the Valles Marineris canyon, polar ice caps, and lighter dust-covered areas.

Mars polar water-ice cap

dust devil on Mars

ground frost on Mars

south polar region of Mars

sand dunes on Mars

A white man in glasses holds a microphone under the text. Ask an Editor, and. What is planetary alignment?, against a starry space background.

simulated flight over Mars's surfaceA Simulated

Mars's moons explained

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Topics

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valley: Channels and valleys on Mars

The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet

Space Odyssey

1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.

Brightest Star in the Solar System

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

27 True-or-False Questions from Britannica’s Most Difficult Science Quizzes

Saturn. Saturn and its rings. Second largest planet of the solar system. Space Art

Planets and the Earth’s Moon

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).

Astronomy and Space Quiz

This artist's concept illustrates Kepler-16b, the first planet known to definitively orbit two stars -- what's called a circumbinary planet. The planet, which can be seen in the foreground, was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The two orbiting stars r

Extrasolar Planets

M101 (NGC 5457, The Pinwheel Galaxy). Hubble Space Telescope image of face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101). Largest most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has ever been released from Hubble. Created from 1994-2003

Everything in Space in a 25-Minute Quiz

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).

Astronomy and Space Quiz

Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 11. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin, photographed July 20, 1969, during the first manned mission to the Moon's surface. Reflected in Aldrin's faceplate is the Lunar Module and astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the picture.

Can You Match The Moon To Its Planet? Quiz

Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 11. Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin, photographed July 20, 1969, during the first manned mission to the Moon's surface. Reflected in Aldrin's faceplate is the Lunar Module and astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the picture.

Can You Match The Moon To Its Planet? Quiz