Mars is called the red planet simply because of how the surface of Mars looks like. Mars is known to have a lot of slope streaks. It also has a lot of sand dunes that are scattered all over the surface of the planet. There are some areas that may use to be great for planting but because of the changes that have happened to Mars, it became a planet that will be hard to live in.
According to some reports, Mars was probably hit before by something large from the galaxy. When it was hit, its atmosphere became much thinner. This makes it impossible for people to thrive on this planet.