Mars Facts

A 100-pound person on Earth would weigh 38 pounds on Mars.

Olympus Mons on Mars is the tallest volcano in the Solar System, standing approximately 13.6 miles (22 km) high. It is nearly 2.5 times the height of Mount Everest.

Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere around 4 billion years ago

Astronomer Percival Lowell became famous for claiming to see canals on Mars built by an intelligent civilization. Researchers later suggested his observations of spoke-like features on Venus were actually the shadows of blood vessels in his own eye, caused by his telescope's unusual setup.

The Dallol springs in Ethiopia glow neon yellow and acid green - and their pH drops below zero, lower than battery acid. In 2019, scientists found no life in the harshest pools despite the liquid water. Liquid water alone is not enough for life.

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum opened without scissors. On July 1, 1976, NASA beamed a signal from the Viking 1 spacecraft, already orbiting Mars but not yet landed. The signal crossed nearly 200 million miles of space and cut the ribbon instead. Fifty years later to the day, it reopened with 5 new galleries after an 8-year rebuild.