Question 2 of 21

Mars is named for the Roman god of ________.

... Roman festivals for Mars, the god of war, took place in March, the month named for him.

Question 3 of 21

Mars is ________ than Earth.

... Mars would fit comfortably inside an Earth-sized shell.

Question 4 of 21

The diameter of Mars is ________.

... The average diameter of Mars is 4,220 mi. (6800 km). The average diameter of Earth is 7,920 mi. (12,750 km)

Question 5 of 21

How far away from Earth is Mars?

... The distance between the two planets varies greatly, usually between 35 million to 249 million miles (56 million to 400 million kilometers), because Mars has a much wider orbit than Earth.

Question 6 of 21

In the 19th century, Italian astronomer Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli mapped Mars, including features he called ________.

... An entire generation of astronomers believed there were man-made channels, or canals, on Mars; they had simply seen dark patches on the planet's surface with unsophisticated equipment.

Question 7 of 21

Mars has ________ Earth's surface gravity.

... Gravity on the surface of Mars is .375 as strong as Earth's gravity.

Question 8 of 21

The average temperature on Earth is 57 degrees Fahrenheit (13.9 degress Celsius). The average temperature on Mars is ________.

... At an average temperature of -81 degrees F (-63 degrees C), Mars is even colder than the Earth's South Pole, which has an average temperature of -57.1 degrees F (-49.5 degrees C).

Question 9 of 21

The Earth revolves around the sun every 365.25 days. How many Earth days does it take Mars to do the same?

... The Martian year lasts 687 Earth days.

Question 10 of 21

How many moons does Mars have, and what are they called?

... Phobos and Deimos were both discovered within a single week in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall.

Question 11 of 21

What do the Greek words phobos and deimos mean?

... Phobos was the Greek god of fear, and Deimos the god of dread or terror; they were sons of Ares, the Greek equivalent of Mars.

Question 12 of 21

On October 30, 1938, American radio listeners were gripped by a realistic radio drama that said Martians had attacked New Jersey. What was it called?

... The War of the Worlds' was produced by Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre on the Air.

Question 13 of 21

Who wrote the novel 'The War of the Worlds?'

... H.G. Wells also wrote 'The Time Machine,' 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' and 'The Invisible Man,' among other books.

Question 14 of 21

Which of these does Mars have?

... Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus) is 16 miles (26 kilometers) high at its peak -- taller than three Mt. Everests -- and covers as much land as the state of Arizona.

Question 15 of 21

What was the first spacecraft to send close-up pictures of Mars back to Earth?

... NASA's Mariner 4 passed within 6120 miles (9850 km) of Mars on July 14, 1965.

Question 16 of 21

Half of the missions to Mars attempted by the U.S., Russia, Japan and other countries have failed. What do scientists blame?

... Scientists jokingly blame the (fictional) Great Galactic Ghoul when challenging, complex Mars missions fail.

Question 17 of 21

Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity were designed by NASA to work for 90 days each. How much longer did they last?

... Spirit transmitted data for nearly six years after landing in 2004, and Opportunity soldiered on even longer.

Question 18 of 21

Curiosity, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, is a collaboration between ________.

... Curiosity is carrying instruments from the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and the Canadian Space Agency.

Question 19 of 21

MetNet is a martian atmospheric science mission scheduled to launch between 2014 and 2019. Which country is taking the lead?

... MetNet is being led by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, with support from Russia and Spain.

Question 20 of 21

Mars, the Bringer of War opens with this musician's orchestral suite, "The Planets."

... The forbidding sound of Holst's "Mars" is echoed in music John Williams wrote for the "Star Wars" bad guys.

Question 21 of 21

Marvin the Martian may be Mars's only representative on Earth. He is ________.

... Marvin the Martian debuted in 1948 alongside Bugs Bunny in 'Haredevil Hare.' He also appears on NASA's launch patch for Spirit.

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