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Otherworldly Activities On Mars
The Red Planet is now open for visitors! Explore this once-inaccessible frontierand its wealth of intriguing adventures. The low
gravity on Mars and its moons has created an entirely new category of sports, while the landscape of the planet offers opportunities for
outdoor escapes. Check out the activities below to round out your Mars vacation.
Need a place to stay during your Martian getaway? From luxury hotels to family-friendly resorts,
explore our hotels on Mars.

1 - Dust Surfing
Do you only live to get radical? Experience 100% pure adrenaline when you dust surf the break of one of the largest dunes in the solar
system. Johnny U's Dust Surfing experts will teach you the necessary skills to drop into a ride that will make you say "Whoah."
Book now >

2 - Sunset Dinner & Star Gazing

Woo your sweetie with a romantic meal in the SuperGlass observation dome. Dense clusters of stars fill the Mars skyline, brighter than
anything you'll see on Earth. Gaze at the stars, while savoring a gourmet, 4-course meal for two.
Book now >

3 - Super Low-G Martian Arts

Travel to Phobos, a moon of Mars, for a spectator sport unlike any other. Aerial gymnastics, complete with flips, "flying," and mid-air
summersaults characterize this athletic contest. After a match, step into the ring yourself to give it a whirl.
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4 - Chartered Mars Rover Rides

Wander the alien surface of Mars on a customized land tour. Collaborate with your Rover Drover to create an itinerary full of the spacey sites you want to see, from the Valles Marineris to the Galle Crater and Utopia Planitia.
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5 - Climb Olympus Mons

Ascend the highest mountain in the entire solar system! This guided climb takes 15-50 days and, once at the top, provides a view
unlike any other. Climbers of all ages and physical levels are encouraged to participate.
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6 - Face Time on Mars

Through some strange twist, the Mars surface is littered with formations that look eerily like faces. See the many faces of Mars during
your Pareidolia Tour, including the Smiley Face Crater, the Chryse Alien Head, and even the mysterious Face on Mars.
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7 - Space Archeology
Visit the Syria Planum Dig Site, learning more about Mars with Dr. Bester and the Interplanetary Expeditions Team as they explore
beneath the surface to learn more about Mars. You can even join in the dig yourself!
Book now >

8 - Mars History Tour

You've read the news, now see the sites for yourself. Tour the landing sites of the most famous Mars missionsthe Vikings, Pathfinder,
Rovers, and Phoenix. Some tours even include an expedition to see the Beagle crash site.

Strange Places on Mars: What Do You Want to See

Next?
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NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured more than 13,000 images of the red planets surface. And
now, the space agency wants your input on what images to acquire next.
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera is currently the most powerful camera on
any NASA spacecraft. The images it has collected are truly amazing. They highlight how similar the Martian
landscape is to Earth in some ways, as well as how otherworldly other parts of Mars can seem.
Weve collected just a few of the oddest and most beautiful shots. If they inspire you to want to pick the next
strange location for HiRISE to focus on, NASA has created a website where you can scan the planets surface
and make suggestions.
The image above shows a dune field on the floor of a crater made by an asteroid impact.
Click on any image in this gallery for a higher-resolution version.
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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This image of layered deposits on a plateau in the Valles Marineris region of Mars was taken in 2007 by the
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The
image shows about three-fourths of a mile across. Scientists think the layers contain opaline silica and iron
sulfates formed through alteration by acidic water.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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This image is of the carbon dioxide ice cap at the south pole of Mars. The pattern is formed by the ice
vaporizing. Scientists think that as the ice cap melts from the bottom up, the carbon dioxide turns directly into
gas. It flows beneath the ice to openings, eroding the ground below into a spiderlike network of troughs. The
flowing gas also carries dust that escapes with it and settles into fan-shaped deposits on top of the ice.
This image was taken in February 2009 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera
on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It covers an area around .6 miles across.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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This image shows an area within Proctor Crater that has both dunes and ripples. The smaller, brighter ridges are
ripples made of very fine sand. The larger, darker forms are dunes made of dust from dark volcanic rocks. This
image was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASAs Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter in February 2009.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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The angle of this image of Victoria Crater reveals layering at the top of the crater walls. The pattern on the floor
of the crater is made of sand dunes. Tracks from NASAs Opportunity rover can be seen on the left side of the
crater. This image was taken in July 2009 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE)
camera on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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This false-color image looks like it could be of the desert southwest in North America. These gully channels
running from a cliff area near the crater rim show typical shapes made by water-carved streams on Earth. The
image was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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Above, Scientists have found evidence of iron-bearing sulfates and clay minerals in the exposed areas of this
region of the Noctis Labyrinthus formation. A dune field covers some of the ground.
Below is an image of the floor of a 600-mile long canyon called Ius Chasma, which is part of the Valles
Marineris, the largest known canyon system in the solar system. The dark rock is an old lava flow, and the
lighter areas are megaripples.
Both images were taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Images: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

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These strangely shaped dunes are known as barchan dunes and are common on both Earth and Mars. The form
where winds blow mostly in one direction. In the area shown above, the winds were blowing from the top right
to the bottom left of the image. Sand is blown up the gentle slopes and falls down the steep lee side of the
dunes.
This image was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter in August 2009.
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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This image is of the floor of Antoniadi Crater. The dark branchlike areas may be the remains of channels that
carried spring water and were filled with material that hardened. Subsequently they dried up and wind eroded
the ground around the channels over millions, maybe even billions, of years, leaving the more resistant channel
rocks as ridges.
Thie image covers around .6 miles across and was taken in March 2009 by the High Resolution Imaging
Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

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These dunes on a crater floor have a frost of carbon dioxide ice. In the spring, the ice melts directly into vapor.
The dark streaks in this image may mark places where the gas has escaped. This image was taken by by the
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on
Jan. 1, 2010.
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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This image is from the floor of the Hellas Basin, a 1,400-mile wide impact crater. The landforms look almost as
if they flowed like a viscous material. This image was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science
Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Dec. 26, 2009.
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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This image looks remarkably like groves of trees growing among Martian dunes. But, the trees are an optical
illusion. They are actually dark streaks of sediment on the downwind side of the dunes. They were created by
escaping gas from the evaporating carbon dioxide ice below. The bottom of the ice melts into vapor and moves
toward holes in the ice, carrying dark sediment along with it that is then deposited when the gas escapes.
This image was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASAs Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter in Aprl 2008.
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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The stripes in this image are linear dunes on the floor of a crater in the Noachis Terra region of Mars. The dark
areas are the dunes, and the lighter boulder-strewn lines are between the dunes. This image was taken by the
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on
Dec. 28, 2009.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona