The surface of Mars is covered in a fine dust that is rich in iron oxide, also known as rust.
There are massive winds on the planet that create dust storms, and so a red-pink smog always hangs over it.
Consequently, Mars’s general appearance is red, but powerful telescopes reveal that the surface is multicolored.
Sixty percent of the planet appears red, mostly in the southern hemisphere.
The polar ice caps are white and the hard surface under the red dust appears brown or gray and changes to blue-gray during the Martian summer.
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