Mars is a small, rocky planet which is cold and lifeless.
The first
spacecraft to visit
Mars was Mariner
4 in 1965. Several
others followed
including the two
Viking landers in
1976. After a long
break, Mars
Pathfinder landed
successfully on
Mars on July 4,
1997.
Mars has
permanent ice caps
at both poles made
up mostly of solid
carbon dioxide. We
know this as "dry
ice."

Very strong winds
and vast dust
storms sometimes
blow through the
entire planet for
months!

Mars has two tiny
moons which orbit
very close to the
surface. Their
names are Phobos
and Deimos.