Mars Buddy

Mars…is a ruddy Buddy and a friendly neighbor! Mars, the red planet, is named after the Roman God of War, but he is a lover, not a fighter. This guy is one friendly Martian!

I am the fourth planet from the Sun and your nearest planetary neighbor. I can pass as close as 35 million miles away from you. My most distinctive characteristic is my rusty red color caused by iron rich minerals in my rocks. When viewed from space, the only areas not red are the white patches at my poles . . . my polar ice caps . . . frozen all year round. I am named after the Roman God of War because my red color is reminiscent of blood. But don’t worry; I’m a peace loving, friendly Martian!

My day is just a few minutes longer than yours, but while Earth has one Moon, I have two. Deimos and Phobos are very small and orbit very close to my surface, Deimos is only about 3700 miles away and takes just 8 hours to orbit me. Phobos is further away, and its orbit takes 30 hours. Your Moon. on the other hand, takes an entire month to orbit the Earth!

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