7 amazing facts about Mars

Mars is located 142,000,000 miles away from the Sun. Named after the Roman God of war, Mars is widely known for its blood-red color. Chinese astronomers even used to call Mars the 'fire star'.

Mars is much smaller than our planet. It only takes up about 15% of the Earth's volume. It would take about six Mars-sized planets to fill up the entire volume of Earth. Mars' size difference also affects the force on its surface. If you weighed 100 lbs on Earth, you would weigh only 38 lbs on Mars.

Olympus Mons is a 68,897 ft high volcano that formed billions of year ago on Mars. It is the tallest standing mountain discovered in the solar system.

Facts about Mars:
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Scientists believe Mars is the 2nd most hospitable planet in our solar system -- behind Earth of course. Water has recently been discovered on the planet, giving it potential for future human residency.

It takes about 687 days for Mars to orbit around the Sun. Mars has all 4 seasons, but each season is twice as long Earth's. Mars has virtually no atmosphere. It is 96% carbon dioxide, 1% Argon and 1% Nitrogen.

Learn what this orbiter has tracked so far on Mars: