What color is Mars really? NASA Curiosity photo shows Mars stripped down.

On a summer morning on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover woke in its usual crater, opened its shutter, and snapped a sprawling view carpeted in blues and grays. The panorama subverts the usual perception of the Red Planet, a reputation that dates to ancient civilizations. Romans called it Mars, the god of war, because its color reminded them of blood. Egyptians called it Her Desher — "the red one." Even people today associate Mars with rust: dry, desolate, and caked with iron…