Mars

There is a long and fascinating history of Mars exploration that stretches back to the very beginning of the space age. Watch this 25-min teacher video, which walks through the dramatic evolution of space missions to the red planet.
Explore 10.4 The Geology of Mars to learn about Mars’s heavily cratered highlands, volcanic plains, massive Tharsis bulge, and the Valles Marineris canyons, along with the search for evidence of past water.
Explore some of the incredible images from the Mars Rover Image Gallery, which illustrate how the surface of Mars is a barren desert-like landscape.
Mars was once an active, violent place. Watch the BBC video Olympus Mons on Mars, which introduces the biggest volcano in our Solar System.
Review 10.5 Water and Life on Mars to understand the Martian atmosphere, seasonal polar caps, evidence of past water erosion features, and the search for signs of past and present life on the Red Planet.
Mars clearly has an atmosphere (albeit a very thin one), which causes weather on Mars. One of the most interesting weather phenomena on Mars is the tiny tornado-like “dust devils.” Check out this amazing picture and video of Martian dust devils.
There is mounting evidence that there has been (and still is) liquid water on the surface of Mars - at least during some parts of the year. Watch the video Water on Mars to see the evidence.
Read 10.6 Divergent Planetary Evolution to explore how Earth, Venus, and Mars have evolved differently from similar beginnings and the implications for understanding planetary environments.
If we understand the evolution of planets, perhaps we can someday “terraform” Mars to make it more like the earth. Watch the video Terraforming Mars to see how this could (and yet probably won’t) work.