Mars

This article, about a planet, is a stub. You can help Orbiterwiki by expanding it. Mars Mars in Orbiter Designation Name Mars Reference body Sun Number of satellites Planetary mean orbits Epoch J2000 (1 January 2000) Semimajor axis (a) 1.52366231 AU (2.279366372×1011 km) Eccentricity (e) 0.09341233 Inclination (i) 1.85061° (0.0322992 radian) Longitude of the ascending node (LAN, ☊) 49.57854° (0.8653088 radian) Longitude of periapsis (ϖ) 336.04084° (5.865019 radian) Mean longitude (L) 355.45332° (6.203831 radian) Planetary orbital element centennial rates Semimajor axis (a) -0.00007221 AU/Century Eccentricity (e) -0.00011902 Century-1 Inclination (i) -46.94 seconds/Century Longitude of the ascending node (LAN, ☊) -1020.19 seconds/Century Longitude of periapsis (ϖ) 1560.78 seconds/Century Mean longitude (L) 68905103.78 seconds/Century Selected physical parameters Mean radius 3389.92±0.04 km Mass 6.418542×1023 kg Density 3.9335±0.0004 g/cm3 Sidereal rotation period 24.622962 hours Sidereal orbit period 1.88071105 years Magnitude V(1,0) -1.52 Geometric albedo 0.15 Equatorial gravity 3.69 m/s2 Escape velocity 5.027 km/s Rotation elements North pole right ascension (α1) 317.61° North pole declination (δ1) 52.85° Obliqutiy of ecliptic 26.72° Longitude of Sun's transit 262.78° Atmospheric parameters Surface Pressure 0.61 kPa (variable) Surface Density ~0.020 kg/m3 Scale height 11.1 km Average temperature ~210 K Wind speeds 0-30 m/s Ecliptic position from primary* Note *Elements given are from Orbiter.pdf (2016) Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and the second smallest planet, larger than only Mercury. Its characteristic red color is due to the iron oxide on its surface. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a very thin atmosphere, its surface features are impact craters, valley, deserts, as well at polar ice caps. The days on Mars are just a bit longer than the Earth's as the rotation period and obliquity are similar, and its orbital period is roughly twice as long. Physical characteristics The diameter of Mars is roughly half that of the Earth, and is less dense, with a surface gravity of about 0.38 G. As a result of the Late Heavy Bombardment, more than half of the surface of Mars contains craters. The remaining surface consists of deserts, volcanoes, and two polar ice caps consisting of mostly water ice and CO2 ice. The atmospheric pressure is about 1% that of the Earth at sea level, and consists of mostly carbon dioxide, argon, and nitrogen with just a trace of oxygen and water, along with dust. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System and the second-smallest solid planet. Mars is a cold terrestrial planet with polar ice caps of frozen water and carbon dioxide. It has the largest volcano in the Solar System, and some very large impact craters. Mars is named after the mythological Roman god of war because it appears of red colour. Rotation and orbit The semimajor axis of Mars is about 228 million kilometers (143 million miles) and its orbital period is about 687 earth days or 670 Mars sols, orbital inclination is 1.85° from the ecliptic, and orbital eccentricity is about 0.093, one of the highest in the solar system. Mars' sol (day) is a bit longer than that of the earth, about 24½ hours, it's axial tilt is about 25°, similar to the Earth. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, very small bodies, which may be captured asteroids. Phobos revolves around Mars in just 11 hours, where Deimos orbits in about 30 hours. Mars in Orbiter Mars has been a part of Orbiter since the earliest version, Orbiter 2001. In Orbiter 2001, the orbital motion of Mars was defined in the Mars.cfg file. From Orbiter 2002 onward, it has been defined in the Vsop87.dll file. Olympus The stock Orbiter2016 includes Olympus base, located at 135.43°W, 12.74° N, with three pads and a VOR transmitter. Natural satellites Phobos Deimos See also Addons for Mars Mars at Wikipedia The Solar System Central star Sun (Sol) Planets Mercury - Venus - Earth - Mars - Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune Natural satellites Moon - Phobos - Deimos - Io - Europa - Ganymede - Titan - more... Add-ons Planets - Dwarf Planets - Small objects - Natural satellites - Alternative star systems