Chapter 30.2 Flashcards
Smallest planet closest to the Sun is…
Mercury
The second closest planet to the Sun is…
Venus
The third planet closest to the Sun is…
Earth
The fourth planet from the sun is…
Mars
How long ago did the solar system form?
4.6 billion years ago (created by a nebula collapse)
What type of atmosphere does Mercury have?
no true atmosphere
What type of atmosphere does Venus have?
a dense atmosphere
Which planet is referred to as Earth’s sister planet?
Venus
What form is water on Earth?
solid, liquid, gas
What is Mars also known as?
the Red Planet
Why is Mars red?
because of iron oxide
How many moons does Mars have?
2
What are the names of Mars’s moons?
Phobos and Deimos
What does Phobos mean?
fear
What does Deimos mean?
panic
What was Spirit and Opportunity’s mission?
to search for liquid water on Mars
What did Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter find on Mars?
sediment layering and gullies (in 2009)
What did the Mariner 9 discover?
Valles Marineris (large canyon) and large volcanoes on Mars
What did Viking 1 and Viking 2 do?
they photographed the surface of Mars
What did Global Surveyor do?
it examined the walls of Valles Marineris (large canyon on Mars)
What did the Odyssey do?
it provided evidence for water as frost beneath a thin layer of soil on Mars
What did Mars Pathfinder and it’s rover, Sojourner, do?
gathered data about how iron in Mars’s crust may have been leached out by groundwater
Where is Curiosity land?
the Gale Crater
What were Curiosity’s goals?
- investigate climate and geology
- collect evidence on microbial life
- planetary habitability studies
