How Much Do You Know About the Red Planet? 你对火星了解多少？
Named after the Roman god of war， Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in our solar system.
Mars is also known as the “Red Planet” because it’s red！ This signature color comes from the large amount of a chemical called iron oxide （or “rust”） in its rocks and soil.
Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system after Mercury. With a diameter （distance through the middle） of 6，800 kilometers， it’s roughly half the size of Earth.
It can get pretty cold on Mars—much colder than our own planet， since it’s further away from the Sun. At the equator， temperatures can reach 20°C， but at its poles they can plummet to as low as -143°C.
Mars is home to the highest mountain in our solar system—a volcano called Olympus Mons. Standing a whopping 24 kilometers high， it’s about three times the height of Mount Qomolangma！
火星是以罗马战神的名字命名的，它是太阳系中的第四颗行星。
火星也被称为“红色星球”，因为它是红色的！这种标志性的颜色来自其岩石和土壤中大量存在的一种化学物质——氧化铁（或者称之为“锈”）。
火星是太阳系中第二小的行星，最小的行星是水星。它的直径（即穿过中心的距离）为6800千米，大约是地球大小的一半。
火星上相当寒冷——比地球要冷得多，因为它距离太阳更远。赤道地区的温度可以达到20℃，但在极点的温度可以降至-143℃。
在太阳系中，火星拥有最高的山峰——一座名为奥林匹斯山的火山。它高达24千米，是珠穆朗玛峰高度的3倍左右！
You could jump around three times higher on Mars than you can on Earth. This is because the planet’s gravity is much weaker.
Do you like to look at the moon at night？ Well， check this out—Mars has two moons！ One is called Phobos and the other Deimos.
A day on Mars is 24 hours and 37 minutes—only a little bit longer than a day on our own planet. A year on Mars， however， is almost twice as long， lasting 687 Earth days！ This is because it takes a lot longer than Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun.
Years ago， scientists believed that there was no liquid water on the surface of Mars—only rocks， soil dust and ice. But in 2018， they found evidence of a lake under the planet’s south polar ice cap.
Humans have not yet been to Mars， but scientists have sent spacecraft there to help them research this fascinating planet. The first spacecraft to land on Mars were the Viking Landers， which touched down on the surface in 1976.
在火星上你可以跳得比在地球上高出约3倍。这是因为火星的引力要小得多。
你喜欢在晚上看月亮吗？那么，来看看这个——火星有两颗卫星！其中一颗叫火卫一（弗伯斯），另一颗叫火卫二（戴摩斯）。
火星上的一天是24小时37分钟——只比地球上的一天稍长一点。然而，火星上的一年天数几乎是地球的两倍，长达687个地球日！这是因为火星绕太阳公转所需的时间比地球要长得多。
几年前，科学家们还认为火星表面没有液态水——只有岩石、土壤尘埃和冰。但在2018年，科学家们在火星南极冰盖下发现了有湖泊的证据。
人类还没有去过火星，但科学家们已经向火星发射了宇宙飞船来帮助他们研究这颗迷人的星球。第一艘在火星着陆的宇宙飞船是海盗号探测器，它们于1976年在火星表面着陆。
Word Bank
roughly /'rʌfli/ adv. 大约，大致；粗鲁地
orbit /'ɔːbɪt/ n. 轨道 v. 环绕……运行
A new satellite has been put into orbit around the Earth.
The Earth takes a year to orbit the Sun.