Exploring Mars: The Red Planet
Mars: The Red Planet
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and seen a reddish light? That might be Mars, also known as the Red Planet! It's our neighbor in space, and scientists are very curious about it.
What Makes Mars Red?
Mars gets its nickname from the rusty-looking dust that covers its surface. This dust is full of iron oxide – the same thing that makes rust on Earth! Imagine a giant, dusty playground covered in reddish-orange sand. That's kind of like Mars.
A Cold and Windy Place
Life on Mars would be very different from life on Earth. The air is much thinner, and it's made mostly of carbon dioxide, which isn't good for us to breathe. It's also super cold, with an average temperature of about -62 degrees Celsius! That's much colder than your freezer.
Mars also has huge dust storms that can last for months and cover the entire planet! These storms are caused by strong winds that whip up the rusty dust.
Could There Be Water?
- Iron Oxide:
- The same thing that makes rust. It's what makes Mars look red.
- spacecraft:
- Vehicles built to travel or operate in outer space.
- evidence:
- Facts or clues that help prove something is true.
- samples:
- Small pieces or amounts of something collected to be studied.
- carbon dioxide:
- A gas in the atmosphere that living things breathe out and that makes up most of the air on Mars.
- rovers:
- Robotic vehicles controlled from Earth that drive across the surface of a planet to explore and gather information.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Why is Mars called the Red Planet?
- 2What is the main gas that makes up the Martian atmosphere?
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About this informational passage for Upper Elementary
“Exploring Mars: The Red Planet” is a informational reading passage about Mars Planet, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (343 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.