Exploration of Mars seasonal vegetation and apparent linear features were ascribed to intelligent design. Further telescopic observations found two moons, Phobos and Deimos, polar ice caps and the feature now known as Olympus Mons, the solar system's tallest mountain. The discoveries piqued further interest in the study and exploration of the red planet. Mars is a rocky planet, like Earth, that formed around the same time, yet with only half the diameter of Earth, and a far thinner atmosphere; it has a cold and desert-like surface. The minimum-energy launch windows for a Martian expedition occur at intervals of approximately two years and two
Maat Mons Maat Mons Maat Mons is a massive shield volcano. It is the second-highest mountain, and the highest volcano, on the planet Venus. It rises above the mean planetary radius at , and nearly 5 km above the surrounding plains. It is named after the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice, Ma'at. Maat Mons has a large summit caldera, 28×31 km in size. Within the large caldera there are at least five smaller collapse craters, up to 10 km in diameter. A chain of small craters 3–5 km in diameter extends some 40 km along the southeast flank of the volcano,