Red Planet Day Is Today, Nov 28th!

Did you know that today, Nov 28th, is Red Planet Day?

Red Planet Day commemorates the launch of the Mariner 4 spacecraft and to celebrate the planet Mars and to learn more about it.

Mariner 4, a robotic interplanetary probe, was the 4th in a series of spacecraft intended to explore planets in a flyby mode. Launched on Nov 28th, 1964, by NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), it was designed to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars, then transmit these observations back to Earth. The spacecraft was also one of the first to do so. But what is this planet Mars, anyway?

Named after the Roman god of war, Mars (Greek equivalent Ares), this planet is the 4th farthest from the sun and the 2nd smallest in the Solar System, after Mercury. A.K.A the “Red Planet”, Mars is famous for its red surface.

“A key to celebrating Red Planet Day is to understand more about Mars, its long history, “whys” and “hows,” says Tigger. “For example, Mars is red because its surface material, or regolith, contains lots of iron oxide.”