Mars, a planet around which many myths, legends and stories entwine and which has always inspired man's fantasies. No other planet is more talked about than him. The planet takes its name from the Roman god of war and is equated with the Greek god Ares.
Mars is the fourth planet and 228 million kilometers away from the sun. Its orbit around the sun is on an elliptical orbit and amounts to between 1.38 and 1.67 astronomical units and lasts 687 earth days, about 1.9 earth years. Mars rotates around its own axis in 24 hours and 37 minutes. Its diameter is 6800 kilometers and is half the size of Earth. This makes it the second smallest planet in the solar system after Mercury. Its gravity is only 38% that of the Earth, i.e. 100 kilograms on Earth would only be 38 kilograms on Mars.
In fact there is water on Mars, which has been denied for years by many people and researchers. Just last year it was announced that Mars has a 20 kilometer long underground lake with liquid water. This is very impressive, because Mars is considered a dead and evaporated planet.
Due to the large amount of iron oxide, Mars appears reddish to us. This circumstance suggests that the planet is very rich in iron deposits. Mars must have lost its atmosphere due to a cosmic catastrophe, which sublimed the water and rusted the iron in the Martian soil. Today Mars has a very thin atmosphere, which makes liquid water impossible, although the temperatures on the planet vary between plus 20° and minus 80°.
The highest mountain in the solar system is on Mars. You think Mount Everest is high? Then have a look at the Olympus Mons on Mars. It is three times higher than Mount Everest. No other mountain in the solar system is higher. The 26 kilometers that Olympus Mons can boast would probably challenge experienced mountaineers. By the way, Mars not only has the highest mountain in the solar system, but also the longest canyon, the Valles Marineris. Due to its diverse geology, Mars also has the highest volcanoes in the solar system. As you can see Mars is really an extreme planet.
Mars also has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, which translated from Greek mean fear and terror. In mythology there were these two demons that pulled the chariot of Ares. These two moons are irregular and are probably asteroids captured by Mars in the past.
The Egyptian capital Cairo is called Al-Qahira in Arabic, which means the conqueror. Mars itself is called in Arabic An-Najim Al-Qahir, which translates as the conquered star. The legend says that Cairo was founded as Mars was brightly visible in the sky and the founders of the city therefore named it after the god of war.
There have long been plans to colonize Mars. From underground cities to cities on the surfaces with glass domes. There are many ideas but the whole thing is a mega project and cannot be implemented overnight. This requires planning down to the smallest detail and, in addition, machines for building, material for building on and people who do the building. That's why this project can take a long time to be implemented. This implementation will take generations until we have settled Mars.
