Why is planet mars red

The one thing it does tell us is that at some point in history, there was a lot more oxygen on Mars. Currently all of the water on Mars is in the form of ice. This can be seen on the surface of the north polar ice cap.

Research carried out in suggested that billions of years ago Mars once had a lot of liquid water on its surface, as much as is found in our Arctic Ocean! This would mean that water vapour would be present in the atmosphere.

This vapour would have been broken down by the atmosphere into Oxygen and Hydrogen. The combination of iron and oxygen in the atmosphere caused the reaction that created iron oxide, giving us the rusty dust clouds that float around.

Investigations of Mars continue, hopefully there is much more exciting information to come about this beautiful red planet! Today, thanks to visiting spacecraft, we know that the planet's appearance is due to rust in the Martian rocks. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.

It orbits the Sun at an average distance of million km, half as far again as the Earth, so human visitors would find it very cold. But why does Mars have so much iron, why is that iron "oxidized," and why does iron oxide look red?

It all started 4. When the solar system formed, many of the planets landed a dose of iron. Forged in the heart of long-dead stars , the heavy element swirled around in the cloud of gas and dust that gravitationally collapsed to form the sun and planets.

Whereas the bulk of Earth's iron sank to its core when the planet was young and molten, NASA scientists think Mars' smaller size and weaker gravity allowed it to remain less differentiated. It does have an iron core, but abundant iron exists in its upper layers, also. Special Events. Full Calendar. Public Events. Family Programs. Homeschool Programs. Girl Scout Events.

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