Map of quadrangles

Main article: List of quadrangles on Mars

For mapping purposes, the United States Geological Survey divides the surface of Mars into
thirty cartographic quadrangles, each named for a classical albedo feature it contains. The
quadrangles can be seen and explored via the interactive image map below.

0°N  180°W
0°N  0°W
90°N  0°W
MC-01
Mare Boreum
MC-02
Diacria
MC-03
Arcadia
MC-04
Mare Acidalium
MC-05
Ismenius Lacus
MC-06
Casius
MC-07
Cebrenia
MC-08
Amazonis
MC-09
Tharsis
MC-10
Lunae Palus
MC-11
Oxia Palus
MC-12
Arabia
MC-13
Syrtis Major
MC-14
Amenthes
MC-15
Elysium
MC-16
Memnonia
MC-17
 Phoenicis
MC-18
Coprates
MC-19
Margaritifer
MC-20
Sabaeus
MC-21
Iapygia
MC-22
Tyrrhenum
MC-23
Aeolis
MC-24
Phaethontis
MC-25
Thaumasia
MC-26
Argyre
MC-27
Noachis
MC-28
Hellas
MC-29
Eridania
MC-30
Mare Australe

Clickable image of the 30 cartographic quadrangles of Mars, defined by the USGS.[154][155] Quadrangle numbers (beginning

with MC for "Mars Chart")[156] and names link to the corresponding articles. North is at the top; 0°N 180°W is at the far left on

the equator. The map images were taken by the Mars Global Surveyor.

 view

 talk

Impact topography
Newly formed impact crater (est 2016 – 2019). False blue colour highlights exposed bedrock

Bonneville crater and Spirit rover's lander

The dichotomy of Martian topography is striking: northern plains flattened by lava flows contrast
with the southern highlands, pitted and cratered by ancient impacts. Research in 2008 has
presented evidence regarding a theory proposed in 1980 postulating that, four billion years ago,
the northern hemisphere of Mars was struck by an object one-tenth to two-thirds the size of
Earth's Moon. If validated, this would make the northern hemisphere of Mars the site of
an impact crater 10,600 by 8,500 kilometres (6,600 by 5,300 mi) in size, or roughly the area of
Europe, Asia, and Australia combined, surpassing the South Pole–Aitken basin as the largest
impact crater in the Solar System.[19][20]

Fresh asteroid impact on Mars at 3.34°N 219.38°E. These before and after images of the same site were
taken on the Martian afternoons of 27 and 28 March 2012 respectively (MRO).[157]

Mars is scarred by a number of impact craters: a total of 43,000 craters with a diameter of 5
kilometres (3.1 mi) or greater have been found. [158] The largest confirmed of these is the Hellas
impact basin, a light albedo feature clearly visible from Earth.[159] Due to the smaller mass of Mars,
the probability of an object colliding with the planet is about half that of Earth. Mars is located
closer to the asteroid belt, so it has an increased chance of being struck by materials from that
source. Mars is more likely to be struck by short-period comets, i.e., those that lie within the orbit
of Jupiter.[160] In spite of this, there are far fewer craters on Mars compared with the Moon,
because the atmosphere of Mars provides protection against small meteors and surface
modifying processes have erased some craters.
Martian craters can have a morphology that suggests the ground became wet after the meteor
impacted.[161]
Volcanoes
Viking 1 image of Olympus Mons. The volcano and related terrain are approximately 550 km (340 mi)
across.

Main article: Volcanology of Mars

The shield volcano Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus) is an extinct volcano in the vast upland
region Tharsis, which contains several other large volcanoes. Olympus Mons is roughly three
times the height of Mount Everest, which in comparison stands at just over 8.8 kilometres
(5.5 mi).[162] It is either the tallest or second-tallest mountain in the Solar System, depending on
how it is measured, with various sources giving figures ranging from about 21 to 27 kilometres
(13 to 17 mi) high.[163][164]
Tectonic sites

Valles Marineris (2001 Mars Odyssey)

The large canyon, Valles Marineris (Latin for "Mariner Valleys", also known as Agathadaemon in

the old canal maps), has a length of 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) and a depth of up to 7
kilometres (4.3 mi). The length of Valles Marineris is equivalent to the length of Europe and
extends across one-fifth the circumference of Mars. By comparison, the Grand Canyon on Earth
is only 446 kilometres (277 mi) long and nearly 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) deep. Valles Marineris was
formed due to the swelling of the Tharsis area, which caused the crust in the area of Valles
Marineris to collapse. In 2012, it was proposed that Valles Marineris is not just a graben, but a
plate boundary where 150 kilometres (93 mi) of transverse motion has occurred, making Mars a
planet with possibly a two-tectonic plate arrangement.[165][166]
Holes
Images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey
orbiter have revealed seven possible cave entrances on the flanks of the volcano Arsia Mons.
[167]
 The caves, named after loved ones of their discoverers, are collectively known as the "seven
sisters".[168] Cave entrances measure from 100 to 252 metres (328 to 827 ft) wide and they are
estimated to be at least 73 to 96 metres (240 to 315 ft) deep. Because light does not reach the
floor of most of the caves, it is possible that they extend much deeper than these lower estimates
and widen below the surface. "Dena" is the only exception; its floor is visible and was measured
to be 130 metres (430 ft) deep. The interiors of these caverns may be protected from
micrometeoroids, UV radiation, solar flares and high energy particles that bombard the planet's
surface.[169]

Atmosphere
Main article: Atmosphere of Mars
The tenuous atmosphere of Mars visible on the horizon

Mars lost its magnetosphere 4 billion years ago,[170] possibly because of numerous asteroid

strikes,[171] so the solar wind interacts directly with the Martian ionosphere, lowering the
atmospheric density by stripping away atoms from the outer layer. Both Mars Global
Surveyor and Mars Express have detected ionised atmospheric particles trailing off into space
behind Mars,[170][172] and this atmospheric loss is being studied by the MAVEN orbiter. Compared to
Earth, the atmosphere of Mars is quite rarefied. Atmospheric pressure on the surface today
ranges from a low of 30 Pa (0.030 kPa) on Olympus Mons to over 1,155 Pa (1.155 kPa) in Hellas
Planitia, with a mean pressure at the surface level of 600 Pa (0.60 kPa).[173] The highest
atmospheric density on Mars is equal to that found 35 kilometres (22 mi)[174] above Earth's
surface. The resulting mean surface pressure is only 0.6% of that of Earth (101.3 kPa). The scale
height of the atmosphere is about 10.8 kilometres (6.7 mi),[175] which is higher than Earth's, 6
kilometres (3.7 mi), because the surface gravity of Mars is only about 38% of Earth's, an effect
offset by both the lower temperature and 50% higher average molecular weight of the
atmosphere of Mars.
The atmosphere of Mars consists of about 96% carbon dioxide, 1.93% argon and
1.89% nitrogen along with traces of oxygen and water.[10][176] The atmosphere is quite dusty,
containing particulates about 1.5 µm in diameter which give the Martian sky a tawny color when
seen from the surface.[177] It may take on a pink hue due to iron oxide particles suspended in it.[17]
Methane
Main article: Methane on Mars

Potential sources and sinks of methane (CH

4) on Mars

Methane has been detected in the Martian atmosphere;[178][179] it occurs in extended plumes, and

the profiles imply that the methane is released from discrete regions. The concentration of
methane fluctuates from about 0.24 ppb during the northern winter to about 0.65 ppb during the
summer.[180]
Estimates of its lifetime range from 0.6–4 years,[181][182] so its presence indicates that an active
source of the gas must be present. Methane could be produced by non-biological process such
as serpentinization involving water, carbon dioxide, and the mineral olivine, which is known to be
common on Mars.[183] Methanogenic microbial life forms in the subsurface are among possible
sources. But even if rover missions determine that microscopic Martian life is the source of the
methane, the life forms likely reside far below the surface, outside of the rover's reach. [184]

Escaping atmosphere on Mars (carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen) by MAVEN in UV[185]

Aurora
In 1994, the European Space Agency's Mars Express found an ultraviolet glow coming from
"magnetic umbrellas" in the southern hemisphere. Mars does not have a global magnetic field
which guides charged particles entering the atmosphere. Mars has multiple umbrella-shaped
magnetic fields mainly in the southern hemisphere, which are remnants of a global field that
decayed billions of years ago.
In late December 2014, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft detected evidence of widespread auroras in
Mars's northern hemisphere and descended to approximately 20–30° North latitude of Mars's
equator. The particles causing the aurora penetrated into the Martian atmosphere, creating
auroras below 100 km above the surface, Earth's auroras range from 100 km to 500 km above
the surface. Magnetic fields in the solar wind drape over Mars, into the atmosphere, and the
charged particles follow the solar wind magnetic field lines into the atmosphere, causing auroras
to occur outside the magnetic umbrellas.[186]
On 18 March 2015, NASA reported the detection of an aurora that is not fully understood and an
unexplained dust cloud in the atmosphere of Mars.[187]
In September 2017, NASA reported radiation levels on the surface of the planet Mars were
temporarily doubled, and were associated with an aurora 25 times brighter than any observed
earlier, due to a massive, and unexpected, solar storm in the middle of the month.[188]

Climate
Main article: Climate of Mars
Of all the planets in the Solar System, the seasons of Mars are the most Earth-like, due to the
similar tilts of the two planets' rotational axes. The lengths of the Martian seasons are about
twice those of Earth's because Mars's greater distance from the Sun leads to the Martian year
being about two Earth years long. Martian surface temperatures vary from lows of about −143 °C
(−225 °F) at the winter polar caps[13] to highs of up to 35 °C (95 °F) in equatorial summer.[14] The
wide range in temperatures is due to the thin atmosphere which cannot store much solar heat,
the low atmospheric pressure, and the low thermal inertia of Martian soil.[189] The planet is 1.52
times as far from the Sun as Earth, resulting in just 43% of the amount of sunlight. [190]
If Mars had an Earth-like orbit, its seasons would be similar to Earth's because its axial tilt is
similar to Earth's. The comparatively large eccentricity of the Martian orbit has a significant effect.
Mars is near perihelion when it is summer in the southern hemisphere and winter in the north,
and near aphelion when it is winter in the southern hemisphere and summer in the north. As a
result, the seasons in the southern hemisphere are more extreme and the seasons in the
northern are milder than would otherwise be the case. The summer temperatures in the south
can be warmer than the equivalent summer temperatures in the north by up to 30 °C (54 °F).[191]
Mars has the largest dust storms in the Solar System, reaching speeds of over 160 km/h
(100 mph). These can vary from a storm over a small area, to gigantic storms that cover the
entire planet. They tend to occur when Mars is closest to the Sun, and have been shown to
increase the global temperature. [192]
 Mars (before/after) global dust storm (July 2018)
Dust storms on Mars

November 18, 2012

November 25, 2012

June 6, 2018[193]
Locations of the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers are noted

Orbit and rotation

Main article: Orbit of Mars
Mars is about 230 million km (143 million mi) from the Sun; its orbital period is 687 (Earth) days, depicted in
red. Earth's orbit is in blue.

Mars's average distance from the Sun is roughly 230 million km (143 million mi), and its orbital
period is 687 (Earth) days. The solar day (or sol) on Mars is only slightly longer than an Earth
day: 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds.[194] A Martian year is equal to 1.8809 Earth
years, or 1 year, 320 days, and 18.2 hours.[10]
The axial tilt of Mars is 25.19° relative to its orbital plane, which is similar to the axial tilt of Earth.
[10]
 As a result, Mars has seasons like Earth, though on Mars they are nearly twice as long
because its orbital period is that much longer. In the present day epoch, the orientation of
the north pole of Mars is close to the star Deneb.[15]
Mars has a relatively pronounced orbital eccentricity of about 0.09; of the seven other planets in
the Solar System, only Mercury has a larger orbital eccentricity. It is known that in the past, Mars
has had a much more circular orbit. At one point, 1.35 million Earth years ago, Mars had an
eccentricity of roughly 0.002, much less than that of Earth today. [195] Mars's cycle of eccentricity is
96,000 Earth years compared to Earth's cycle of 100,000 years. [196] Mars has a much longer cycle
of eccentricity, with a period of 2.2 million Earth years, and this overshadows the 96,000-year
cycle in the eccentricity graphs. For the last 35,000 years, the orbit of Mars has been getting
slightly more eccentric because of the gravitational effects of the other planets. The closest
distance between Earth and Mars will continue to mildly decrease for the next 25,000 years. [197]