Mars is widely known for its iconic rusty red color — many people even refer to it as just the "Red Planet" — but new research suggests the Martian shade isn't just lovely to look at. The chemistry behind Mars' rosy hue may actually hold important information about our cosmic neighbor.
For decades, spacecraft and rovers have gathered data pointing to a familiar explanation behind Mars' redness: the rusting of iron minerals, namely iron oxide, in the planet's dust. That's the same compound that gives your standard "rust" on Earth its red color.
