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Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and the seventh largest. Mars is named after the Roman mythology God Mars, which is the God of war, agriculture, and the state. Mars is also called the Red Planet because its rocks, soil, and sky have a red or pink color. The ancient Egyptians named the planet Her Descher, which means the red one. Mars, at times is the third brightest object in the night sky. The Moon and Venus are first and second. Before space exploration, Mars was thought to be the best place for harboring extraterrestrial life. Astronomers where able to see lines on Mars which were thought to be canals. In 1938 Orson Wells broadcasted a radio program based on the book War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, which made many people believed that Martians were invading the Earth, it almost caused a huge panic. In 1965 Mariner 4 transmitted the first close up pictures of Mars. The pictures showed there were many craters and natural channels but no artificial canals or water. In 1976 two spacecraft, Viking 1 and 2, landed on Mars. Neither of the spacecraft found any evidence of life. The Atmosphere of Mars is made of carbon dioxide (95.32%), nitrogen (2.7%), argon (1.6%), oxygen (.13%), water (.03%), and ne