This picture shows where Isidis Planitia is on Mars. The Mars globe on the left shows how Mars would look to your eyes if you were close to Mars. The globe on the right shows how high (or low) places on Mars are. Places that are high look red or orange on the right globe. Places that are low look green or blue on the right globe. You can see that Isidis Planitia is low because it is blue.
Click on image for full size
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Isidis Planitia

Isidis Planitia is the name of a place on Mars. Isidis Planitia is a very flat plain. It is inside the bottom of a very old crater. Isidis Planitia is big. It is about 1,500 km (930 miles) across. That is quite a bit bigger than the state of Texas!

A comet or a big asteroid that crashed into Mars probably made the crater that Isidis Planitia is in. Scientists think that happened a very long time ago. They thin the comet or asteroid hit Mars three or four billion years ago.

Some scientists think Mars had lakes or oceans on it a long time ago. It doesn't any more. Mars is very dry. If Mars did have lakes or oceans in the past, Isidis Planitia might have been filled with water a long time ago.

A spacecraft called Mars Express got to Mars in December 2003. Mars Express had a part that landed on Mars. That part is called Beagle 2. Beagle 2 landed in the eastern part of Isidis Planitia. Beagle 2 is supposed to look for life on Mars. Scientists think that places that once had water are good places to look for life.

Last modified December 26, 2003 by Randy Russell.

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Overview of the Mars Express Mission

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a mission to Mars in June of 2003. The mission is called "Mars Express". The Mars Express spacecraft has two parts. One part will orbit Mars for at least one Martian...more

Mars Express - Beagle 2 Lander

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a mission to Mars in June of 2003. The mission is called "Mars Express". The Mars Express spacecraft has two parts. One part will orbit Mars for at least one Martian...more

Mars Express Landing Site - Isidis Planitia

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a mission to Mars in June of 2003. The mission is called "Mars Express". The Mars Express spacecraft has two parts. One part will orbit Mars for at least one Martian...more

The South Pole of Mars

The first spacecraft to take a picture of the South Pole of Mars was Mariner 7. The South Pole of Mars has craters, sand dunes, and the polar ice cap. The south pole of Mars is important because that's...more

Isidis Planitia

Isidis Planitia is the name of a place on Mars. Isidis Planitia is a very flat plain. It is inside the bottom of a very old crater. Isidis Planitia is big. It is about 1,500 km (930 miles) across. That...more

A place on Mars called Gusev Crater

Gusev Crater is an impact crater on Mars that looks as though a lake may have once filled it in the distant past. One of the two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) will explore Gusev Crater beginning in January...more

A Place on Mars called Meridiani Planum

Meridiani Planum is the name of a flat plain on Mars. Opportunity landed there. Opportunity is one of the Mars Exploration Rovers. Meridiani Planum is very flat. "Planum" means "plain". Scientists think...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA