#red_planet_day

Mars is known as the "Red Planet" because it appears faintly reddish/orange when viewed in the night sky. This reddish color comes from the abundance of iron minerals and dust on the Martian surface. Now, Red Planet Day commemorates the launch of the Mariner 4 spacecraft on November 28, 1964. Mariner 4 performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars returning the first pictures of the Martian surface.