Get Earth By Cynthia Sherwood

Mars, known as the Red Planet, is a mostly dry and dusty place. A variety of colors can be seen on the surface, including the predominant rusty red the planet is known for. This rusty red color is iron oxide, just like the rust that forms here on Earth when iron oxidizes – often in the presence of water.

Mars in Roman mythology was the God of War and patron of warriors. This symbol is also used in biology to describe the male sex, and in alchemy to symbolise the element iron which was considered to be dominated by Mars whose characteristic red colour is coincidentally due to iron oxide.

So where does that redness come from? Well, a lot of rocks on Mars are full of iron, and when they're exposed to the great outdoors, they 'oxidize' and turn reddish - the same way an old bike left out in the yard gets all rusty.

Mars, in different mythology, is also called the god of war. The native under the influence of Mars is likely to be hot in temperament with a warrior mentality. It elevates the animal nature of a person. It rules qualities like courage, confidence, leadership.

Exploring Mars helps scientists learn about momentous shifts in climate that can fundamentally alter planets. It also lets us look for biosignatures, signs that might reveal whether life was abundant in the planet's past—and if it still exists on Mars today.

The maximum solar insolation on Mars is only about 590 W/m2 compared to about 1370 W/m2 at the Earth's surface.

Mars was named by the ancient Romans for their god of war because its reddish color was reminiscent of blood.