Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and orbits the sun at a distance of about 141 million mi. Mars is named for the Roman god of war because it appears fiery red in the earth’s night sky. Mars is a small planet that has about half the diameter of Earth and about one-tenth Earth’s mass. The force of gravity on the surface of Mars is about one-third of that on Earth. …showed first 75 words of 2116 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2116 total…the station’s condition more closely. Just as scientific equipment from Salyut 7 was transferred to Mir, equipment from Mir will be transferred to Mir’s planned follower ship, the International Space Station (ISS), at the end of Mir’s career. Space shuttle missions to Mir ended in mid-1998 and the first component of ISS was scheduled for launch in late 1998. ISS was assembled in orbit from U.S., Russian, European, Japanese, and Canadian parts. Bibliography