Position - fourth from the sun

Distance from sun - (nearest) 206 million km (furthest) 249 million km (average) 228 million km

Minimum distance from Earth - 56 million km

Diameter - 6,800 km

Satellites - two rocks, Phobos (27 km) and Deimos (15 km)

Atmosphere - thin nitrogen and carbon dioxide

Surface Temperature - from -110 ^oC to 0 ^oC

Length of Day (time taken to rotate once) - 1 Earth day

Length of Year (time taken to go round the Sun) - 687 Earth days

Comments - Mars is covered in red dust and rocks. Even the sky would be orange on Mars because the atmosphere is so thin. There is no oxygen in the atmosphere so you could not breathe and it would be very cold. There is some frozen water on Mars though and people hope that life might be found there.

Major Features - There is a 5000 km long, 6 km deep canyon called the Valess Marineris which would make the Grand Canyon seem tiny. The highest mountain, Olympus Mons, is three times the height of Mt Everest.

Seeing Mars from Earth - When it is near Earth Mars is a very bright and obviously orange star, but at other times it can be very faint and hard to see.

Getting There - Two Viking probes landed on Mars in the 1970s and there is talk of sending more probes soon. It is hoped that Mars will be the first planet which man lands on - maybe in your lifetime.