JOAN CARTAN-HANSEN, HOST:
SCIENTISTS ARE LEARNING ALL THEY

CAN ABOUT MARS WITH THE HOPE
THAT SOMEDAY SOON WE CAN SEND

PEOPLE THERE.

SO, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW
ABOUT MARS?

FIND OUT AS THE RED PLANET IS
REVEALED ON SCIENCE TREK.

(MUSIC)
CARTAN-HANSEN: MARS IS THE

FOURTH PLANET FROM THE SUN.

OF ALL THE PLANETS IN THE SOLAR
SYSTEM, MARS IS THE MOST LIKE

EARTH.

MARS SPINS ON ITS AXIS WITH A
TILT SIMILAR TO EARTH'S.

A MARTIAN DAY IS ABOUT 24 HOURS
AND 40 MINUTES.

IT HAS DISTINCT SEASONS.

AND THERE ARE ICE CAPS ON ITS
NORTH AND SOUTH POLE.

BUT UNLIKE EARTH, MARS HAS A
THIN ATMOSPHERE MOSTLY MADE UP

OF CARBON DIOXIDE.

MARS IS ABOUT HALF AS WIDE AS
THE EARTH AND BECAUSE ITS MASS

IS LOWER, IT HAS FAR LESS
GRAVITY.

IF YOU WEIGHED 50 POUNDS ON
EARTH, YOU WOULD WEIGH ONLY 19

POUNDS ON MARS.

AND BECAUSE MARS IS MUCH FURTHER
FROM THE SUN THAN THE

EARTH IS, MARS TAKES LONGER TO
ORBIT THE SUN.

A MARS YEAR TAKES 687 EARTH
DAYS.

ITS AVERAGE SURFACE TEMPERATURE
IS ABOUT 80 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.

SUMMER DAYS CAN GET MUCH WARMER,
BUT BECAUSE MARS HAS SO LITTLE

ATMOSPHERE, THE NIGHTS ARE VERY
COLD.

MARS HAS TWO MOONS: PHOBOS AND
DEIMOS.

THEY ARE SMALL AND SHAPED KIND
OF LIKE POTATOES.

DEIMOS IS THE SMALLER AND ITS
ORBIT IS FARTHER FROM MARS THAN

PHOBOS.

PHOBOS CAN ORBIT MARS THREE
TIMES IN A SINGLE MARTIAN DAY.

MARS WAS NAMED AFTER THE ROMAN
GOD OF WAR AND IS KNOWN AS THE

RED PLANET.

IT'S RED BECAUSE IRON IN THE
DIRT ON MARS GIVES IT ITS RUSTY

RED COLOR.

MARS HAS GIANT VOLCANOES AND
DEEP CANYONS.

THE HIGHEST VOLCANO IN THE WHOLE
SOLAR SYSTEM IS OLYMPUS MONS AND

IT'S ON MARS.

OLYMPUS MONS IS ABOUT 374 MILES
WIDE AND 16 MILES HIGH.

THAT'S THREE TIMES TALLER THAN
MT. EVEREST, EARTH'S HIGHEST

POINT AND ABOUT AS WIDE AS THE
STATE OF ARIZONA.

THERE ARE LOTS OF CRATERS ON
MARS CAUSED BY ASTEROIDS.

AND MARS' SURFACE IS SOLID LIKE
EARTH'S AND MADE UP OF MOSTLY OF

ROCK AND DIRT.

GIANT DUST STORMS CAN BLANKET
MUCH OF THE PLANET AND LEAVES

THE MARS SKY A PINK OR TAN
COLOR.

IN 1877, GIOVANNI SCHIAPARELLI
FIRST IDENTIFIED LINES ON THE

SURFACE OF MARS.

HE CALLED THEM "CANALI", WHICH
WAS MISTRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

AS "CANALS."

ASTRONOMERS OF THE TIME THOUGHT
THE CANALS HAD BEEN DUG BY SOME

SORT OF ALIEN LIFE FORM.

THAT STARTED THE TALK ABOUT
LITTLE GREEN CREATURES FROM

MARS.

>>> "AT LAST THE SECRET WAS
MINE.

AND NOW, TO GET PROOF OF MY
DISCOVERY, SMUGGLED PAST THE

BORDER GUARDS.

IN SPITE OF MY INFINITE
PRECAUTION, ONE OF THEM BECAME

SUSPICIOUS AND GAVE THE ALARM.

(WOMAN SCREAMING)
>>COME BACK FOR THE

(INDESCERNABLE)DID YA?

GET 'EM PA!

>> AND SO WITH A FOND FAREWELL
TO THE NATIVES RINGING IN MY

EARS, I TOOK OFF ONCE AGAIN FOR
MARS."

CARTAN-HANSEN: WELL, THERE WERE
NO LITTLE GREEN MARTIANS WHEN

MARINER FOUR TOOK THESE FIRST
REAL CLOSE UP PICTURES OF THE

SURFACE OF MARS IN 1965.

VIKING ONE LANDED ON THE SURFACE
OF MARS IN JULY OF 1976 AND

PROVIDED THE FIRST PANORAMIC
PHOTOS OF THE PLANET'S SURFACE.

AND ROVERS LIKE "SPIRIT,"
"OPPORTUNITY" AND "CURIOSITY"

HAVE ALLOWED SCIENTISTS TO LEARN
A GREAT DEAL MORE ABOUT THE RED

PLANET.

(MUSIC)
WE KNOW WATER ONCE RAN

IN STREAMS ON THE PLANET AND
THAT THERE WERE ONCE LAKES.

WE'RE STUDYING THE ELEMENTS THAT
MAKE UP THE ROCKS AND SOILS ON

MARS.

AND WE'RE SEARCHING FOR THE
BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE.

AND WHO KNOWS?

MAYBE YOU'LL BE THE FIRST
ASTRONAUT TO WALK ON MARS AND

DISCOVER EVEN MORE ABOUT THE RED
PLANET.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
MARS, CHECK OUT THE SCIENCE TREK

WEBSITE.

YOU'LL FIND IT AT
IDAHOPTV.ORG/SCIENCETREK.

(MUSIC)
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