New Delhi, Feb. 26 -- For decades, scientists have believed that the Red Planet's distinctive hue is due to iron minerals rusting under dry conditions over billions of years. However, new research combining spacecraft data from the European Space Agency (ESA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with advanced laboratory experiments suggests Mars' rusty dust has a much wetter history than previously assumed.

A study led by Adomas Valantinas, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University, has revealed that Mars' red colour is best explained by ferrihydrite - a form of iron oxide that requires water to form - rather than hematite, which was long thought to be responsible for the planet's dust.

The paper was published F...