Fact One:
Of all the planets in the Solar System, Mars is the one people believe is most likely to contain or to have contained life. In 1900, a prize was offered to the first person to be contact an extra-terrestrial being. However, this extra-terrestrial being was not allowed to come from Mars because that would make the competition too easy! In 1938, a radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (a story about an invasion of Earth by Martians) caused a near panic in America because so many people believed it to be true.

Fact Two:
The largest volcano in the Solar System is on Mars. It is called Olympus Mons.

Fact Three:
Mars has polar caps like Earth, containing frozen carbon dioxide (and small amount of water).

Fact Four:
Mars is believed to have had water flowing around it like Earth once. It may have had a blue sky too. However, it is unlikely that it had grass, trees and plants like Earth has now.

Fact Five:
The Valles Marineris, the greatest gorge on any planet in the Solar System, was caused when volcanoes erupting around it tore up the land, leaving a huge valley.

Fact Six:
We can see how long Mars has been a 'dead' planet by the number of meteorite impacts on its surface. In comparison, Earth and Venus have fewer impact craters because they have newer surfaces formed by recent geological activity.

Fact Seven:
Mars has seasons like Earth. This is caused by the tilt of the planet's axis, at a similar angle to the tilt of Earth's axis.

Fact Eight:
The Sun appears about half the size on Mars as it does from Earth.

Fact Nine:
The first space probe to take pictures of Mars' surface (Mariner 4 in 1964) is still in space, orbiting the Sun. Still orbiting Mars itself are Mariner 9 (launched in 1971), Viking 1 and 2 (launched in 1975), the Mars Global Surveyor (launched in 1996, which is currently looking for the Mars Polar Lander, launched in 1998) and the Mars Climate Orbitor (launched in 1998 to orbit Mars in 1999). These are American space probes. Russian probes orbiting Mars are Mars 2 and Mars 3 (launched in 1971), Mars 5 (launched in 1973) and Phobos 1 (launched in 1988). Japan has Nozomi orbiting Mars (launched in 1998).

Fact Ten:
Rocks from Mars have landed on Earth from meteorite impacts blasting debris through space.

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