Specials
Mars offers many leisure activities and unique sights that you would never be able to witness to such a great extent on Earth. Be sure to pay them a visit during your stay!
Moons
Two moons orbit around Mars at different distances:
| Phobos (English: fear) | Deimos (English: dread) | |
| Distance to Mars | 9,400 kilometres | 23,500 kilometres |
| Orbital speed | 7 hours 39 minutes | 30 hours 18 minutes |
| Direction of rotation | from west to east | from east to west |
Only here, you get to experience the incomparable and spectacular phenomenon of two moons moving in opposite directions.
Meteor showers
A recurring spectacle are meteor showers that leave traces of all sizes on Mars. They are presumably what is causing Mars’ surface structure besides volcanic eruptions. The meteor showers can occur unexpectedly and with varying intensity. They can completely take you by surprise. Nevertheless, you can look forward to this absolutely spectacular experience, during which you can collect rocks as souvenirs.
Insider tip: It is advised to always take a helmet with you.
Volcanoes
Mars is largely shaped by volcanoes, most of which are still active. A fascinating and sensational landmark is Olympus Mons, a huge extinct volcano with a diameter of 500 kilometres at its foot and a crater diameter of 80 kilometres. With a height of about 26 kilometres, it is not only the highest point on Mars, but within our solar system! It is thrice the size of Mount Everest. Many settlers have build villages at the foot of volcanoes. As a visiting student, you may get the chance to live in one of those villages. This allows you to see the eruption up close and you will be able to observe the lava flowing right to the front of your doorstep.
Caution: No bathing!
Attractions
There is an infinite number of things to explore on Mars. Let the ideas below inspire you!
Valles Marineris – Big Canyon on Mars
Another miracle of nature on Mars is Valles Marineris, a large canyon system with a depth of 7,000 metres and a length of 4,000 kilometres. One might say, it is the Big Canyon of Mars, only considerably larger and more spectacular. There is an acute risk of getting lost on the rough and jumbled terrain of the canyons, as they all look eerily similar. It is therefore advised to lay a rope along your way to find back afterwards. Don’t worry, you’ll learn about these and other helpful techniques at the Mars Survival Camp. If you are lucky, someone else gets lost as well and you can look for a way out together.
Tours and other leisure activities
In addition to natural miracles and spectacles, Mars has numerous tourist activities, such as hop-in hop-out bus tours through the larger areas.
Other bus tours take you to remote locations such as Rootlyn. Why not explore the area on your own with a rental car?
A visit to the popular amusement park Alienland is worthwhile as well. The park boasts a lot of attractions with cutting edge technology that earthlings only can dream of. This is where you can explore the surface of Mars with real Mars scooters and contribute to further research.
Further attractions include holograms, teleportation or floating boards that are known from the movie “Backwards to the Future”. They have been part of the basic equipment of martian amusement parks for quite some time.
