5 things you may not know about the planet Mars

Mars is called the red planet because the landscape is stained rusty-red by the iron-rich dust.

Its gravity is only 38 per cent that of Earth. So if you weigh 68 kgs on Earth, you would weigh 25 kgs on Mars.

Mars' temperatures can range from 80 degrees at its equator to -199 degrees at its poles.

Mars' atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide with traces of nitrogen and argon. Earth's atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen and other gases.

Days in Mars last 40 minutes longer than a day on Earth.