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Written by marsplanet.co.uk
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Mars, sometimes known as the Red Planet, is the fourth closest planet to the Sun in our Solar System. (The Earth is the third closest).
 Like the Earth, Mars is a rocky, or “telluric”, planet.
Mars has a slightly ellipsoidal shape with a diameter of 6794 km at the equator and 6750 at the poles. The Sun’s gravitational pull on Mars has caused the planet to develop an equatorial bulge.
Mars has about 15% of Earth’s volume and 11% of its mass. It has lower density than Earth, 3.94 grams per cubic centimeter, on average. Earth has an average density of 5.52 grams per cubic centimeter.
Gravity on Mars is much lower than on Earth. A body that was transported to Mars from Earth would weigh one third of what it weighed on Earth.
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