Surprising theory on Mars’ hue arises

Wind erosion, not liquid water, produced ruddy color, researchers think

By Clara Moskowitz
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ANDREW HEISLER

According to this MSNBC article, turns out Mars isn't red because of liquid water rusting. That's what I had previously thought, at least for that last several years, but now I just read that it could be potentially from something else. Clara Moskowitz says that it is a result of "simple grinding down of rocks from erosion could produce a red mineral that stains the dust on Mars, the new thinking goes" (Moskowitz 1). The scientists concluded that their original theory couldn't be right because when they sent Spirit and Opportunity (the Mars Rovers), the rovers detected minerals that would've been washed away during erosion with liquid water. I thought this was really cool because I always enjoy seeing scientists disprove themselves and put in a better theory instead. Even though I know we're making strides in the field of science, it's always nice to hear about it as a regular person. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else, but scientific breakthroughs are always really cool to hear about.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32957601/ns/technology_and_science-space/