Real-time photos from Curiosity, Perseverance, Opportunity and Spirit. Select rover, camera and date below.
Half the diameter of Earth. Mars has roughly the same land surface area as Earth, since Earth's surface is mostly ocean.
Mars is cold. Its thin CO₂ atmosphere (1% of Earth's pressure) cannot retain heat. Temperatures swing wildly between day and night.
A Martian day (Sol) is just 37 minutes longer than Earth's. One Martian year equals 687 Earth days — nearly 2 Earth years.
The largest volcano in the solar system — 22km tall, three times the height of Everest, and as wide as France. An ancient shield volcano.
Curiosity, Perseverance, InSight (completed), and several orbiters continue to map, drill, and analyze the Martian surface and atmosphere.
Evidence suggests Mars had liquid oceans and a thicker atmosphere 3-4 billion years ago. The water is now locked in polar ice caps and underground reservoirs.