Why is mars hotter than earth

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, but it has a very thin atmosphere and is not the warmest planet. Venus is very, very hot.

This combination makes the planet an incredibly cold place. The absence of water makes the temperature on Mars change a lot. Read more: Curious Kids: What are some of the challenges to Mars travel? One of the interesting challenges we face while building space payloads, like we do at Griffith University, is to build instruments that can withstand such a wide temperature range.

Posted on Jan 05, View the discussion thread. Exploration Space Mars Rovers. Thank you. You have successfully signed up for our newsletter. Error message Sorry, there was a problem.

Please ensure your details are valid and try again. In the desert regions near the equator, temperature can get as high as At the south pole in Antarctica temperatures can reach as low as This means that when the planet is at perihelion closest to the Sun it is roughly 0.

In short, Mars is still, and by far, the colder of the two planets. Venus has what is called a runaway greenhouse effect. This is what happens when an atmosphere absorbs too much carbon dioxide: the heat has nowhere to go. As the temperature rises it effects the entire planet, creeping deep into the depths of the core.

Many scientists around the world were skeptical as to a possible mission to Venus. Most thought that everything would burn up before the technology could send back any information. The Soviets sent a few missions to Venus, and the first few failed.