What is Mars?

Mars is a red planet that lives in our solar system, just like Earth does.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy car on the floor, that's kind of what it's like to be on Mars. But instead of a smooth floor, there are big hills and craters (like when you crash into a pile of blocks). The ground is red because it has a lot of iron in it, just like how some rocks look rusty when they're outside in the rain.

Mars is like a friend who lives far away. Sometimes it's really close to Earth, about as far as going from New York City to London, and sometimes it's much farther, like going all the way around the world. That’s why we send robots (like our friends who go on adventures) to explore Mars when we can.

It’s pretty chilly on Mars, about as cold as a freezer in your kitchen, but there are days when it gets warmer, like when you take your ice cream out of the freezer and it starts to melt. And even though it doesn’t have oceans like Earth, there are dust storms that can last for weeks, just like big squalls on a windy day.