What Makes the Red Planet Red?

What Makes the Red Planet Red?
New data suggests Mars' rusty color may have come from tiny meteors, not water
BY NEEPA SHAH

Why is Mars red? Scientists have widely believed the planet's rusty color comes from a past when water existed on the Red Planet's surface. But new data suggests the red hue is caused by something else: Meteor showers! Now, scientists are rethinking theories they have long held to be true about Earth neighbor.
Creating the Red Glow
The commonly held view was that Mars' rusty color was the result of a chemical reaction between iron in rocks that dissolved into the planet's oceans, lakes and rivers over billions of years. But a new study that appeared in The New Scientist magazine suggests that water was not needed to create rust on Mars.
The study's leader, Dr. Albert Yen, found that rust could have been created by exposing iron in rocks to ultraviolet light and exposing the iron to the gases and temperatures found on Mars.
The study does not suggest water never flowed on Mars. Yen says the Red Planet's dry valleys and channels show that there once was water on its surface. But the water may have played a smaller part in creating the reddish color than scientists had thought.
Why Is Water So Important?
Even though Mars is now as dry as a desert, the possibility that there once was water remains an important discovery. Water is one of the most important ingredients of living things. Scientists believe that evidence of water also points to evidence of life that may have once existed on Mars. In 2001, scientists found such evidence but they don know if the water existed long enough to support living creatures.

Earth’s neighbor-Mars is a very mysterious planet. Scientists have widely believed the planet's rusty color comes from a past when water existed on the Red Planet's surface before. But now scientists think that there is another reason of the planet's rusty color. They think that it is because of the meteor shower. The meteor showers are with dirt so it made Mars red. Scientists also believe that there was water on Mars before. Water is the most important thing to let living creatures live. In 2001, scientists found such evidence but they don’t know if the water is enough for the creatures on Mars to live. The space is a very mysterious place we don’t know if there are any aliens on other planets and we don’t know if the other planets have high technology. So we need to put more efforts on investigate more things.