Have we been wrong about why Mars is red?

Science & Exploration Have we been wrong about why Mars is red? 25/02/2025 1175 views 33 likes The Red Planet’s iconic rusty dust has a much wetter history than previously assumed, find scientists combining European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA spacecraft data with new laboratory experiments on replica Mars dust. The results suggest that Mars rusted early in the planet’s ancient past, when liquid water was more widespread. Mars is easily identifiable in the night sky by its prominent red hue. Thanks to the fleet of spacecraft that have studied the planet over the last decades, we know that this red colour is due to rusted iron minerals in the dust. That is, iron bound up in Mars’s rocks has at some point reacted with liquid water, or water and oxygen in the air, similar to how rust forms on Earth. Mars mosaic in colour Over billions of years this rusty material – iron oxide – has been broken down into dust and spread all around the planet by winds, a process that continues today. But ... Read full article.