The wind stirs up the red dust and makes the planet appear even brighter than usual. It is about 15 miles high. That's three times the height of Mount Everest, Earth's tallest peak. Mars also has a giant canyon known as Valles Marineris. The canyon is longer than the entire United States.
Many experts believe water used to flow there.
Like Earth, Mars has an atmosphere, or a layer of gas surrounding it. But Mars' atmosphere is made mostly of carbon dioxide. That means humans could not live on Mars without bringing their own oxygen to breathe. Mars is much colder than Earth. Because the air on Mars is very thin, the temperature can change very quickly.