Explore Mars, the rust-red world that has captivated humanity for centuries. Home to the solar system's tallest volcano and grandest canyon, Mars preserves evidence of ancient rivers and remains our best candidate for past life beyond Earth.
Olympus Mons rises 21.9 km, nearly three times the height of Mount Everest, making it the largest volcano in the solar system.
Iron oxide (rust) in the Martian soil gives the planet its distinctive red-orange color, visible even to the naked eye from Earth.
Dried river deltas, lake beds, and minerals that form in water prove Mars once had rivers, lakes, and possibly oceans.
Phobos and Deimos are small, lumpy moons likely captured asteroids. Phobos is slowly spiraling toward Mars.
A Martian day (sol) lasts 24 hours 37 minutes, remarkably close to Earth's, though its year is nearly twice as long.
Mars has permanent polar caps of water ice and seasonal caps of frozen carbon dioxide that grow and shrink each year.
Named for Mars, the god of war, because of its blood-red color. March, the month of military campaigns, also bears his name.
Known as Ares, the fierce god of battle. The moons Phobos (fear) and Deimos (dread) are named for his sons.
Identified with Nergal, god of war and plague, watched carefully as an omen of conflict.
Known as Mangala, the auspicious red planet, associated with energy, ambition, and the warrior spirit in Vedic astrology.
Mars is best observed at opposition, every 26 months, when Earth passes between Mars and the Sun and the planet shines brilliant red all night.
Visible to the naked eye as a red point of light. A 6-inch telescope at opposition can reveal polar caps and dark surface markings.
Around opposition Mars performs its famous retrograde loop, appearing to reverse direction against the stars for several weeks.
Mars varies dramatically in brightness, from magnitude +1.8 to -2.9, depending on the distance between Earth and Mars.
In astrology, Mars governs action, desire, and courage. It is the planet of drive and assertion, showing how we pursue goals, defend boundaries, and channel raw energy.
How we initiate, compete, and push toward what we want
The warrior instinct that faces challenges head-on
Raw vitality, motivation, and physical energy
Humans could potentially live on Mars with significant technology: pressurized habitats, radiation shielding, water extracted from ice, and oxygen generated from the CO2 atmosphere. NASA and SpaceX are actively developing the systems needed for crewed missions.
Mars is red because its surface is rich in iron oxide, the same compound as rust. Fine rust-colored dust covers the planet and is regularly whipped into global dust storms.
No life has been found on Mars yet, but evidence shows it once had liquid water, organic molecules, and habitable conditions. The Perseverance rover is collecting samples that may finally answer whether microbial life ever existed there.
A typical spacecraft journey to Mars takes about 7 to 9 months using a Hohmann transfer orbit, with launch windows opening every 26 months when Earth and Mars align favorably.