Interesting Facts About Mars for Kids: Know Your Neighbouring Planet

For a long time, humans have tried to explore space and various objects suspended in it. However, it is impossible to know everything about it. It never reveals its buried secrets. But scientists have successfully explored Earth’s neighbour planet i.e. Mars. Now it is your turn to know facts about mars for kids.

Through this article, you will learn about cool facts about mars for kids and an overview of space facts for children.

Also Read: Unbelievable Facts about Outer Space for Kids: Facts Every Kid Must Know

Space Facts for Children

Before exploring interesting facts about mars for kids, it is vital to know some facts on space and space exploration. Here is a list of some common space facts for children:

• Space is a vast area full of galaxies and other heavenly bodies.
• There are many theories related to the formation of the universe. One of the most famous among them is the big bang theory.
• There are lakhs of galaxies in space. Earth is a part of the Milky way galaxy.
• Earth and other planets revolve around the sun.
• According to a theory, a giant cloud known as Nebula exploded. The explosion gave rise to small heavenly bodies like planets, stars, asteroids, meteors, dust, etc.
• There are a total of 8 planets. Their name in the sequence is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

The planets are divided into two parts:

• Interesting Facts About Mars for KidsTerrestrial Planets

The planet closest to the sun with a gaseous atmosphere. There are four terrestrial planets. They are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

• Jovian Planets

The planets far from the sun with more moons and rings. There are four jovian planets. They are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

• Space exploration begins during the cold war. The first spacecraft was Sputnik 1, launched by Russia in the year 1957.

These facts will give basic information about space to help learn cool facts about mars for kids. They will also improve your kid’s general knowledge.

Also Read: Fun Facts About Space For Kids: Explore the Unexplored Space for Kids at the Right Place!

Facts About Mars for Kids

Here is a list of some interesting facts about mars for kids:

• Starting from the sun, the planet is in the fourth position, between Earth and Jupiter.
• The planet is named after the Roman god, Mars. He is the god of wars.
• If you ever hear Red planet, don’t get confused. It is another name for Mars. The planet is named so because of its colour. When seen from space, it looks like a giant red ball.
• The colour is red because of the iron oxide accumulation in large amounts on the surface of the planet Mars. You might know this chemical by the name rust. When iron comes in contact with moisture, it forms rust by mixing with the oxygen.
• It is a known fact that Jupiter is the biggest planet in the solar system and Mercury is the smallest one. But not everyone knows about the second smallest planet. It is Mars. Its calculated diameter is roughly 6,791 Kilometer, which is approximately half the diameter of the earth ( Diameter is the distance between the two ends passing through the center).
• By the name Red planet, it might look like the hottest planet but it is not. In reality, it is colder than Earth. It is estimated that the temperature near the equator can reach up to 20°C while the temperature on poles is as low as -140°C. Although it is a terrestrial planet, close to the sun compared to the jovian ones, it is still far from the sun.
• A vital general knowledge fact is that the highest mountain on the Earth is Mount Everest. But only a few people know that the highest mountain in the solar system is on Mars. According to space enthusiasts, a volcano named Olympus Mons erupted on Mars’s surface giving rise to a mountain with a height three times more than the tallest mountain of Earth. Its height is approximately 24 Kilometers.
• Do you know about gravity? It is a force between two bodies that attract them towards each other. Gravity is the reason you stay on the ground. There are various factors on which gravity depends. Thus, a different place has different gravity.

On mars, you can jump three times as high as you can jump on Earth. It is because the gravity of Mars is much lower than that of Earth. A fun fact about gravity is, space has zero gravity that means you will float in space.

• Do you know every planet has its moon? A body is called the moon of a planet if it revolves around it and is not man-made. Earth has only one such natural satellite known as the moon. Different planets possess a different number of moons.

A fun fact about mars for kids is, only two natural satellites or moon revolve around it. They are named Deimos and Phobos.

• The Earth takes approximately 24 hours to complete one rotation. Thus, a day is 24 hours long on the earth. However, Mars takes 24hours and 33 minutes to complete one rotation. Thus, a day in it is as long as 24 hours and 33 minutes. The time for both the planets is almost the same. But they differ vastly in terms of one year.
• Earth takes 365 days and 6 hours to complete one revolution around the sun moving along its elliptical orbit. Thus, the size of a year on Earth is 365 days. The 6 hours add for four years to form a leap year with 24 extra hours and 366 days. Mars is farther from the sun. Thus, its orbit is comparatively bigger than earth. It takes almost 687 days to complete one revolution around the sun. Therefore, one year on Mars is almost equal to two years on Earth.
• Everyone knows that 3/4th part of Earth is occupied with water. Space enthusiasts for a long time believed that no other heavenly body contains water in liquid form. But in the year 2018, their belief took a turn. Earlier, only dust, ice, soil, and rocks were found in the mars. In 2018, they found a dried lake or a structure that looks like a lake on the planet. The evidence was located beneath the south polar ice cap. It gave hope that once the water was there in liquid form.
• Many humans had landed on the surface of the moon but no one had yet entered the atmosphere of Mars. Instead of humans, scientists use space crafts to explore the high ends of planets. The spacecraft named Viking landers was the first to land on the surface of the Red Planet. It landed in 1976.

These are some of the cool facts about mars for kids. These facts will enhance your kid’s general knowledge. It will make them a mars champion.

Also Read: Interesting and Amazing Facts about Moon: Fun Facts about Your Kid’s Night Friend

Conclusion

Kids are curious. Thus, you should answer their questions and teach them more and more general knowledge. Space is an immense and unlimited area to explore. There are tons of facts on every planet, galaxy, and star. However, humans had only explored only a tiny portion of space. Mars is our immediate neighbour. Thus, a kid should know about it. Also, space enthusiasts are thinking of a way to invade mars and form a human colony there. So, get ready to book your plot on mars!