A new study in the journal Nature Communications reveals that Mars is red for very much the same reason it may have once been home to life — namely, that it was a wet planet. This is in line with research from last year that detailed how Mars was covered in bodies of water in its distant past.

A new study claims that a mineral found in Mars' dust called ferrihydrite, which forms in the presence of cool water, is likely what gives the planet its reddish hue.

Mars’s red dust may contain ferrihydrite, an iron mineral that forms in water. This suggests ancient Mars had water for longer than believed.