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Mars, of all the planets in our solar system, is the most similar to Earth. Some of the General characteristics of Mars are illustrated here and in associated resources, concentrating on those important to Martian meteorology,. Although its diameter is only 53% that of Earth, it has dramatic geological features ranging from a 3000 mile (~ 5,000 km) long canyon system and Martian volcanos, that rise 29 km, more than 90,000 feet, above the mean Martian surface. The axis about which Mars rotates, is inclined approximately 25.19° to its orbital plane, compared to Earth's 23.44°, its day, called a sol, is 24.66 hours, and its year is 669 sols. Currently it has a very thin, cold, mainly carbon dioxide, CO2, atmosphere about 1% as dense as Earth's, and some water-ice clouds but liquid water has yet to be conclusively demonstrated . However, Viking, Mars Surveyor, and Mars Odyssey observations demonstrate that large amounts of water ice are near the surface at high latitudes, and that half of the northern hemisphere might have been covered by an ocean for undetermined lengths of time early in the history of Martian evolution.
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