Mars
Rocky planet
The red planet, a cold desert world with giant volcanoes, a vast canyon and icy poles.
Key facts
- Type
- Rocky planet
- Diameter
- 6,792 km
- Average distance from the Sun
- 228.0 million km
- One orbit
- 687 Earth days
- One day
- About 24.7 hours
- Moons
- Two
About the Mars
How to recognise it
Mars is rusty red-orange, coloured by iron-rich dust, with darker patches and white ice caps at its poles. It is about half the width of Earth.
What it is like
Mars is cold, with a thin atmosphere, and its day is only a little longer than ours. Our image shows the huge canyon system Valles Marineris stretching across the planet. Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Sources
Facts checked: 29 October 2026
