Martian Geology

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, at about 1.5 times the Earth to –Sun distance. It is a small planet with a mean radius of approximately 3,396 km, compared to Earth's radius of 6.378 km. Today Mars is clearly a very different planet from the Earth. By studying the geology of Mars, we try to understand the evolution not only of Mars but also the terrestrial planets in general from orbital and in situ observations. Research into Martian geology is conducted by Frank Fueten and Mariek Schmidt.