Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in our solar system. It is named after Mars, the god of war in Roman mythology (the counterpart to Ares in Greek mythology), because of its red color as viewed in the night sky. This feature also earned it the name "The Red Planet." Mars has two moons (Phobos and Deimos) which are both small and oddly-shaped, possibly being captured asteroids. The prefix areo- refers to Mars in the same way geo- refers to Earth—e.g. areology versus geology.

Mars in fiction

Because of early scientific speculations that its surface conditions might be capable of supporting life, Mars has become one of the most often mentioned real planets in science fiction.

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• In H.G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds (1898), the Martians are an ancient, advanced race with a tentacled, squid-like appearance. They produce a "red weed", which is said to give Mars its red color.
• In the John Carter novels (1917–1964) of Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars is known as Barsoom.
• In A.N. Tolstoy's novel Aelita (one of the first in Soviet science fiction) Mars is home to an ancient race. A Soviet expedition headed by engineer Los arrives there. Los falls in love with the beautiful Aelita, daughter of the Martian Supreme Ruler, while Los' companion is trying to organise a communist revolution which is supposed to bring happiness and progress to the ancient and stagnating civilisation.
• In H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, Mars is the home of the Aihai people, and Yog-Sothoth's son Vulthoom dwells in the cavern of Ravornos there (Clark Ashton Smith's Vulthoom, 1935).
• In Out of the Silent Planet (1938), the first book of the Space Trilogy (1938–1945) by C.S. Lewis, a philologist named Ransom is forced to travel to Mars (called by the natives Malacandra).
• In The Martian Chronicles (1950) by Ray Bradbury, the humanlike Martians have copper-colored skin. They have human emotions and the ability to read minds (telepathy). They are a dying race whose culture is quite advanced.
• In the DC Universe the Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) (1955) is a superhero and member of the Justice League. In at least some variations, he is believed to be the last of his race.
• In Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) by Robert Heinlein, Michael Valentine Smith is a human born on Mars and raised by Martians before returning to earth. Heinlein depicts Mars often, in such novels as Red Planet, The Rolling Stones, Double Star, and Podkayne of Mars.
• The Mars Attacks! card series (1962) depicted a race of hideous, skeletal aliens that came to Earth, sowing destruction in a manner so exaggerated as to be funny. The card series later spawned a film, directed by Tim Burton, as well as a comic book series.
• In the Doctor Who universe (1963 onward), Mars is the homeworld of the Ice Warriors, a recurring race during the first three Doctors' eras. The fourth Doctor had the Pyramids of Mars as the last outpost of the Egyptian gods.
• In both the Star Trek (1966–) and Babylon 5 (1993–) universes, Mars has no living native life, and has been colonized by humanity.
• In Captain Scarlet (1967–1968), The Mysterons come from Mars.
• In the film Total Recall (1990), the protagonist must journey to Mars in order to uncover his past. Mars is shown as being previously inhabited by an ancient race of aliens, who created a machine for producing a breathable atmosphere on the planet.
• The Mars Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars) (1992–1999) by Kim Stanley Robinson details a human colonization of Mars based on more current scientific knowledge of the Red Planet.
• Mars was the home planet of the Biker Mice from Mars (1993): Throttle, Modo & Vinnie. Other Martian Mice include Carbine, Stoker, and Rimfire.
• In the 1993 video game Doom, game events took place on military bases on both of Mars' moons, Phobos and Deimos. The 2004 sequel Doom 3 is set on Mars itself.
• In The Heritage Trilogy (1998–2000) and The Legacy Trilogy (2003–), by Ian Douglas, the Cydonia region of Mars is home to ancient alien ruins where mummified early humans are found in 2040.
• In the television show, Futurama (1999–2003), Leo and Inez Wong (parents of Amy Wong) own the whole Western hemisphere of Mars and the solar system's most prestigious college, Mars University, is located there.
• In the video game Destroy All Humans! (2005), the Martians were wiped out by the Furons.