Mars is between Earth and Jupiter making it the fourth planet from the Sun. Mars is known as “The Red Planet”, it is red because its surface contains iron. A year on Mars is 687 Earth days. What makes a year for a planet is how long it takes to make a trip around the Sun, for Earth, it takes 365 days. Mars has 4 seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons, and weather like Earth. Mars is about half the size of Earth, it is the second smallest planet in the Solar System.