Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

celestial object An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often u ...

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

utopian fiction Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...

canals on Mars During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was erroneously believed that there were "canals" on the planet Mars. These were a network of long straight lines in the equatorial regions from 60° north to 60° south latitude on Mars, observed ...

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

alien invasion The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people ...

of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

by sinister Martians, was published in 1897 and went on to have a large influence on the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

genre.

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

appeared frequently in fiction throughout the first half of the 1900s. Apart from enlightened as in the utopian works from the turn of the century, or evil as in the works inspired by Wells, intelligent and human-like Martians also began to be depicted as decadent, a portrayal that was popularized by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the '' Barsoom'' series and adopted by

Leigh Brackett Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 18, 1978) was an American science fiction writer known as "the Queen of Space Opera." She was also a screenwriter, known for '' The Big Sleep'' (1946), '' Rio Bravo'' (1959), and '' The Long Go ...

among others. Besides these, more exotic lifeforms appeared in stories like Stanley G. Weinbaum's "

A Martian Odyssey "A Martian Odyssey" is a science fiction short story by American writer Stanley G. Weinbaum originally published in the July 1934 issue of ''Wonder Stories''. It was Weinbaum's second published story (in 1933 he had sold a romantic novel, ''The ...

". The theme of colonizing Mars replaced stories about native inhabitants of the planet in the second half of the 1900s following emerging evidence of the planet being inhospitable to life, eventually confirmed by data from

Mars exploration The planet Mars has been explored remotely by spacecraft. Probes sent from Earth, beginning in the late 20th century, have yielded a large increase in knowledge about the Martian system, focused primarily on understanding its geology and habit ...

probes. A significant minority of works nevertheless persisted in portraying Mars in a way that was by then scientifically outdated, including

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

's ''

The Martian Chronicles ''The Martian Chronicles'' is a science fiction fix-up novel, published in 1950, by American writer Ray Bradbury that chronicles the exploration and settlement of Mars, the home of indigenous Martians, by Americans leaving a troubled Earth th ...

''. Terraforming Mars to enable

human habitation Habitability refers to the adequacy of an environment for human living. Where housing is concerned, there are generally local ordinances which define habitability. If a residence complies with those laws it is said to be habitable. In extreme e ...

has been another major theme, especially in the final quarter of the century, with the most prominent example being

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...

's ''Mars'' trilogy. Stories of the first

human mission to Mars The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Some have also considered exploring the Martian moons of Phobos (moon), Phob ...

appeared throughout the 1990s in response to the

Space Exploration Initiative The Space Exploration Initiative was a 1989–1993 space public policy initiative of the George H. W. Bush administration. On July 20, 1989, the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, US President George H. W. Bush announced plans f ...

. The

moons of Mars The two moons of Mars are Phobos (moon), Phobos and Deimos (moon), Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythology, Greek mythological twin charac ...

— Phobos and Deimos—have made only sporadic appearances in fiction.

Early depictions

Before the 1800s,

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

did not get much attention in fiction writing as a primary setting, though it did appear in some stories visiting multiple locations in the

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

. The first fictional tour of the planets, the 1656 work ''

Itinerarium exstaticum ''Itinerarium exstaticum quo mundi opificium'' is a 1656 work by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher. It is an imaginary dialogue in which an angel named Cosmiel takes the narrator, Theodidactus ('taught by God') on a journey through the planets ...

'' by

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fe ...

, portrays Mars as a volcanic wasteland. It also appears briefly in the 1686 work ''

Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds ''Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds'' (french: Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes) is a popular science book by French author Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, published in 1686. Content The work consists of six lessons popularizing ...

'' by Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, but is largely dismissed as uninteresting due to its presumed similarity to Earth. Mars is home to spirits in both the 1758 work '' De Telluribus in Mundo Nostro Solari'' (English title: '' Concerning the Earths in Our Solar System'') by

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had a ...

and the 1765 novel '' Voyage de Milord Céton dans les Sept Planètes'' by Marie-Anne de Roumier-Robert. It later appeared alongside the other planets in the anonymously published 1839 novel '' A Fantastical Excursion into the Planets'' where it is divided between the

Roman gods The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin lite ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

and

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

, the anonymously published 1873 novel ''

A Narrative of the Travels and Adventures of Paul Aermont among the Planets A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

''—where, unlike the other planets, it is culturally rather similar to Earth—and the 1883 novel ''

Aleriel, or A Voyage to Other Worlds ''Aleriel, or A Voyage to Other Worlds'' is an 1883 science fiction novel by Wladislaw Somerville Lach-Szyrma, a Polish-English curate, author, and historian. The book is an expanded version of Lach-Szyrma's earlier work '' A Voice from Another ...

'' by W. S. Lach-Szyrma where a visitor from

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

relates the details of Martian society to Earthlings. Mars became the most popular extraterrestrial location in fiction in the late 1800s as it became clear that the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

was devoid of life. A recurring theme in this time period was that of

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

on Mars, reflecting an upswing in interest in the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

in general and in relation to Mars in particular. Humans are reborn on Mars in the 1889 novel '' Uranie'' by

Camille Flammarion Nicolas Camille Flammarion FRAS (; 26 February 1842 – 3 June 1925) was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction ...

as a form of

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

, the 1896 novel '' Daybreak: The Story of an Old World'' by James Cowan depicts

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

reincarnated there, and the protagonist of the 1903 novel ''

The Certainty of a Future Life in Mars ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by

Louis Pope Gratacap Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ...

receives a message in

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...

from his deceased father on Mars. Another trope introduced during this time is Mars having a different local name such as Glintan in the 1889 novel '' Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet'' by

Hugh MacColl Hugh MacColl (before April 1885 spelled as Hugh McColl; 1831–1909) was a Scottish mathematician, logician and novelist. Life MacColl was the youngest son of a poor Highland family that was at least partly Gaelic-speaking. Hugh's father died w ...

, Oron in the 1892 novel '' Messages from Mars, By Aid of the Telescope Plant'' by

Robert D. Braine The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, and Barsoom in the 1912 novel ''

A Princess of Mars ''A Princess of Mars'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine ''All-Story Magazine'' from February–July, 1912. Full of swordplay and dari ...

'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This would carry on to later works such as the 1938 novel ''

Out of the Silent Planet ''Out of the Silent Planet'' is a science fiction novel by the British author C. S. Lewis, first published in 1938 by John Lane, The Bodley Head. Two sequels were published in 1943 and 1945, completing the ''Space Trilogy''. Plot While on a ...

'' by

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

which refers to the planet as Malacandra. Several stories also depict Martians speaking Earth languages and provide explanations of varying levels of preposterousness: in the 1899 novel '' Pharaoh's Broker'' by

Ellsworth Douglass Ellsworth may refer to: People *Ellsworth (surname) *Ellsworth P. Bertholf, US Coast Guard commodore *Ellsworth B. Buck, American politician *Ellsworth Bunker, American diplomat *Ellsworth Burnett, American politician *Ellsworth Cunningham, also k ...

they speak

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

as Mars goes through the same historical phases as Earth with a delay of a few thousand years and currently corresponds to the captivity of the Israelites in

Biblical Egypt Biblical Egypt (; ''Mīṣrāyīm''), or Mizraim, is a theological term used by historians and scholars to differentiate between Ancient Egypt as it is portrayed in Judeo-Christian texts and what is known about the region based on archaeological e ...

, in the 1901 novel '' A Honeymoon in Space'' by

George Griffith George Griffith (1857–1906), full name George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones, was a prolific British science fiction writer and noted explorer who wrote during the late Victorian and Edwardian age. Many of his visionary tales appeared in magazin ...

they speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

because they acknowledge it as the "most convenient" language of all, and in the 1920 novel ''

A Trip to Mars ''Himmelskibet'', ''Excelsior'' / ''A Trip to Mars'' / ''Das Himmelschiff'' is a 1918 Danish film about a trip to Mars. In 2006, the film was restored and re-released on DVD by the Danish Film Institute. Phil Hardy says it is "the film that mark ...

'' by

Marcianus Rossi Marcian (; la, Marcianus, link=no; grc-gre, Μαρκιανός, link=no ; 392 – 27 January 457) was Roman emperor of the Byzantine Empire, East from 450 to 457. Very little of his life before becoming emperor is known, other than that he wa ...

they speak

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as a result of having been taught the language by a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

who was flung into space by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79. Martians were often portrayed as existing within a

racial hierarchy A racial hierarchy is a system of stratification that is based on the belief that some racial groups are superior to other racial groups. At various points of history, racial hierarchies have featured in societies, often being formally institut ...

: the 1895 novel '' Journey to Mars'' by Gustavus W. Pope features Martians with different skin colours (red, blue, and yellow) subject to strict

anti-miscegenation laws Anti-miscegenation laws or miscegenation laws are laws that enforce racial segregation at the level of marriage and intimate relationships by criminalization, criminalizing interracial marriage and sometimes also sex between members of different R ...

, Rossi's ''A Trip to Mars'' sees one portion of the Martian population described as "our inferior race, the same as your terrestrian

negroes In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...

", and Burroughs' ''Barsoom'' series has red, green, yellow, and black Martians, with a white race that was responsible for the previous advanced civilization on Mars now extinct.

Means of travel

The issue of how humans would get to Mars was addressed in various ways: when not travelling there via spaceship as in the 1911 novel '' To Mars via the Moon: An Astronomical Story'' by Mark Wicks, they might use a

flying carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One ...

as in the 1905 novel '' Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation'' by

Edwin Lester Arnold Edwin Lester Linden Arnold (14 May 1857 – 1 March 1935) was an English author. Most of his works were issued under his working name of Edwin Lester Arnold. Life and literary career Arnold was born in Swanscombe, Kent, as son of Sir Edwin Arnol ...

, visit in a dream as in the 1899 play '' A Message from Mars'' by

Richard Ganthony Richard Ganthony (1856–1924) was an actor and playwright. He is best known as the author of the drama '' A Message from Mars'', which premiered in 1899. Biography Born in Liverpool, England, in 1856, Richard Ganthony spent most of his career in t ...

, teleport via

astral projection Astral projection (also known as astral travel) is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body called an " astral body" through which consciousness can functio ...

as in the 1912 novel ''A Princess of Mars'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs, or use a long-range communication device while staying on Earth as in the 1892 novel ''Messages from Mars, By Aid of the Telescope Plant'' by Robert D. Braine.

Anti-gravity Anti-gravity (also known as non-gravitational field) is a hypothetical phenomenon of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to ...

is employed in the 1880 novel ''

Across the Zodiac ''Across the Zodiac: The Story of a Wrecked Record'' (1880) is a science fiction novel by Percy Greg, who has been credited as an originator of the sword and planet subgenre of science fiction. Plot The book details the creation and use of a ...

'' by

Percy Greg Percy Greg (7 January 1836 Bury – 24 December 1889, Chelsea), son of William Rathbone Greg, was an English writer. Percy Greg, like his father, wrote about politics, but his views were violently reactionary: his ''History of the United States t ...

and the 1890 novel ''

A Plunge into Space ''A Plunge into Space'' is an 1890 science fiction novel by Irish author Robert Cromie. It describes a voyage to Mars, where Earthlings find a utopia that is so perfect as to be boring. It received mostly positive reviews upon release and likel ...

'' by

Robert Cromie Robert Cromie (1855–1907) was a Northern Irish journalist and novelist. Early life and family Robert Cromie was the third son of Dr. Cromie J.P., of Clough, the local registrar of births and deaths and ruling elder of Clough Presbyterian chu ...

. Occasionally, the method of transport is not addressed at all. Some stories take the opposite approach of having Martians come to Earth; examples include 1891 novel '' The Man from Mars: His Morals, Politics and Religion'' by Thomas Blot (pseudonym of William Simpson) and the 1893 novel ''

A Cityless and Countryless World A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

'' by Henry Olerich.

Canals

During the 1877 opposition of Mars, Italian astronomer

Giovanni Schiaparelli Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 14 March 1835 – 4 July 1910) was an Italian astronomer and science historian. Biography He studied at the University of Turin, graduating in 1854, and later did research at Berlin Observatory, ...

announced the discovery of linear structures he dubbed ''canali'' (literally "channels", but widely translated as "canals") on the Martian surface. These were generally interpreted—by those who accepted their existence—as waterways, and they made their earliest appearance in fiction in the anonymously published 1883 novel '' Politics and Life in Mars'', where the Martians live in the water. Schiaparelli's observations inspired

Percival Lowell Percival Lowell (; March 13, 1855 – November 12, 1916) was an American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, and furthered theories of a ninth planet within the Solar System. ...

to speculate that these were artificial constructs and write a series of non-fiction books—''Mars'' in 1895, ''Mars and Its Canals'' in 1906, and ''Mars as the Abode of Life'' in 1908—popularizing the idea. Canals became a feature of romantic portrayals of Mars such as the 1912 novel ''A Princess of Mars'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Works that did not depict any waterways on Mars typically explained the appearance of straight lines on the surface in some other way, such as

simoom Simoom ( ar, سموم ''samūm''; from the root ''s-m-m'', "to poison") is a strong, hot, dry, dust-laden wind. The word is generally used to describe a local wind that blows in the Sahara, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and the des ...

s or large tracts of vegetation. While they quickly fell out of favour as a serious scientific theory, largely as a result of higher-quality telescopic observations by astronomers such as

E. M. Antoniadi Eugène Michel Antoniadi (Greek: Ευγένιος Αντωνιάδης; 1 March 1870 – 10 February 1944) was a Greek-French astronomer. Biography Antoniadi was born in Istanbul (Constantinople) but spent most of his adult life in France ...

failing to detect them, canals continued to make sporadic appearances in fiction in works such as the 1938 novel ''Out of the Silent Planet'' by C. S. Lewis and the 1949 novel '' Red Planet'' by

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

until the flyby of Mars by

Mariner 4 Mariner 4 (together with Mariner 3 known as Mariner-Mars 1964) was the Mariner program, fourth in a series of spacecraft intended for planetary exploration in a flyby mode. It was designed to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and ...

in 1965 conclusively determined that they were mere

optical illusion Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...

s.

Utopias

Because early versions of the

nebular hypothesis The nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted model in the field of cosmogony to explain the formation and evolution of the Solar System (as well as other planetary systems). It suggests the Solar System is formed from gas and dust orbitin ...

of

Solar System formation The formation of the Solar System began about 4.6 billion years ago with the gravitational collapse of a small part of a giant molecular cloud. Most of the collapsing mass collected in the center, forming the Sun, while the rest flattened into a ...

held that the planets were formed sequentially starting at the outermost planets, some authors envisioned Mars as an older and more mature world than the Earth, and it became the setting for a large number of utopian works of fiction. This genre made up the majority of stories about Mars in the late 1800s and continued to be represented through the early 1900s. The earliest of these works—as well as the first work of science fiction set primarily on Mars—was the 1880 novel ''Across the Zodiac'' by Percy Greg. The 1887 novel '' Bellona's Husband: A Romance'' by William James Roe portrays a Martian society where everyone ages backwards. The 1890 novel ''A Plunge into Space'' by Robert Cromie depicts a society that is so advanced that life there has become dull, and as a result the humans who visit succumb to boredom and leave ahead of schedule—to the approval of the Martians, who have come to view them as a corrupting influence. The 1892 novel ''Messages from Mars, By Aid of the Telescope Plant'' by Robert D. Braine is unusual in portraying a completely rural Martian utopia without any cities. An early work of

feminist science fiction Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction (abbreviated "SF") focused on theories that include feminist themes including but not limited to gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics, reproduction, and environment. Feminist ...

, the 1893 novel ''

Unveiling a Parallel ''Unveiling a Parallel: A Romance'' is a Feminism, feminist science fiction and Utopian and dystopian fiction, utopian novel published in 1893 in literature, 1893. The first edition of the book attributed authorship to "Two Women of the West." Th ...

: A Romance'' by

Alice Ilgenfritz Jones Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

and Ella Robinson Merchant (writing jointly as "Two Women of the West"), depicts a man from Earth visiting two egalitarian societies on Mars: one where women have adopted male vices and one where equality has brought out everyone's best qualities. The 1897 novel '' Auf zwei Planeten'' by

Kurd Lasswitz Kurd Lasswitz (german: link=no, Kurd Laßwitz; 20 April 1848 – 17 October 1910) was a German author, scientist, and philosopher. He has been called "the father of German science fiction". He sometimes used the pseudonym ''Velatus''. Biograph ...

contrasts a utopian society on Mars with that society's

colonialist Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

actions on Earth. The book was translated into several languages and was highly influential in

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

, including inspiring rocket scientist

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

, but did not receive a translation into English until the 1970s which limited its impact in the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere is a group of English-speaking world, English-speaking nations that share historical and cultural ties with England, and which today maintain close political, diplomatic and military co-operation. While the nations included in d ...

. The 1910 novel '' The Man from Mars, Or Service for Service's Sake'' by

Henry Wallace Dowding Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

portrays a civilization on Mars based on a variation on

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

where woman was created first. Valentina Kuindzhi (1924)

In

Russian science fiction Science fiction and fantasy have been part of mainstream Russian literature since the 18th century. Russian fantasy developed from the centuries-old traditions of Slavic mythology and folklore. Russian science fiction emerged in the mid-19th c ...

, Mars became the setting for

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

utopias and revolutions. The 1908 novel ''

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

'' by

Alexander Bogdanov Alexander Aleksandrovich Bogdanov (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Богда́нов; – 7 April 1928), born Alexander Malinovsky, was a Russian and later Soviet physician, philosopher, science fiction writer, and B ...

is the primary example of this, and inspired numerous others. ''Red Star'' portrays a socialist society on Mars from the perspective of a Russian

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

invited there, where the struggle between classes has been replaced with a common struggle against the harshness of nature. The 1913 prequel ''

Engineer Menni ''Red Star'' (russian: Красная звезда) is Alexander Bogdanov's 1908 science fiction novel about a communist society on Mars. The first edition was published in St. Petersburg in 1908, before eventually being republished in Moscow a ...

'', also by Bogdanov, is set several centuries earlier and serves as an

origin story In entertainment, an origin story is an account or backstory revealing how a character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist, and it adds to the overall interest and complexity of a narrative, often giving reasons for their intent ...

for the Martian society by detailing the events of the revolution that brought it about. Another prominent example is the 1922 novel ''

Aelita ''Aelita'' (russian: Аэли́та, ), also known as ''Aelita: Queen of Mars'', is a 1924 Soviet silent film, silent science fiction film directed by Yakov Protazanov and produced at the Gorky Film Studio, Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio. It was b ...

'' by

Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (russian: link= no, Алексей Николаевич Толстой; – 23 February 1945) was a Russian writer who wrote in many genres but specialized in science fiction and historical novels. Despite having ...

—along with its 1924 film adaptation, the earliest Soviet science fiction film—which adapts the story of the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

to the Martian surface. ''Red Star'' and ''Aelita'' are in some ways opposites. ''Red Star'', written between the unsuccessful 1905 Russian Revolution and the successful

1917 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, sees Mars as a socialist utopia that Earth can learn from, whereas in ''Aelita'' the socialist revolution is instead exported from the early

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

to Mars. ''Red Star'' depicts a

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

on Mars, in contrast to the

dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

initially found on Mars in ''Aelita''—though both are technocracies. ''Red Star'' is a sincere and idealistic work of traditional utopian fiction, whereas ''Aelita'' is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

.

''The War of the Worlds''

The 1897 novel ''The War of the Worlds'' by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

alien invasion The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people ...

of

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

by Mars in search of resources, represented a turning point in Martian fiction. Rather than being portrayed as essentially human, the Martians have a completely inhuman appearance and cannot be communicated with. Rather than being noble creatures to emulate, the Martians dispassionately kill and exploit the Earthlings like livestock—a critique of contemporary

British colonialism The British Empire was composed of the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. I ...

in general and its devastating effects on the

Aboriginal Tasmanians The Aboriginal Tasmanians (Palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. For much of the 20th century, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people were widely, and ...

in particular. The novel set the tone for the majority of the science-fictional depictions of Mars in the decades that followed in portraying the Martians as malevolent and Mars as a dying world. Beyond Martian fiction, the novel had a large influence on the broader science fiction genre, and inspired rocket scientist

Robert H. Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first Liquid-propellant rocket, liquid-fueled rocket. ...

. Says

Bud Webster Clarence Howard "Bud" Webster (July 27, 1952 – February 13, 2016) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer who is also known for his essays on both the history of science fiction and sf/fantasy anthologies as well. He is perhaps be ...

, "It's impossible to overstate the importance of ''The War of the Worlds'' and the influence it's had over the years." Orson Welles War of the Worlds 1938

An unauthorized sequel—''

Edison's Conquest of Mars ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' is an 1898 science fiction novel by American astronomer and writer Garrett P. Serviss. It was written as a sequel to ''Fighters from Mars'', an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's 1897 story '' ...

'' by

Garrett P. Serviss Garrett Putnam Serviss (March 24, 1851 – May 25, 1929) was an American astronomer, popularizer of astronomy, and early science fiction writer. Serviss was born in Sharon Springs, New York and majored in science at Cornell University. He t ...

—was released in 1898. Wells' story gained further notoriety in 1938 when a radio adaptation by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

in the style of a news broadcast was mistaken for the real thing by some listeners in the US, leading to panic; less famously, a 1949 broadcast in

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

, Ecuador similarly resulted in a riot. Several additional sequels by other authors have been written since, including the 1975 novel ''

Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds ''Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds'' is a sequel to H. G. Wells's science fiction novel ''The War of the Worlds'', written by Manly Wade Wellman and his son Wade Wellman, and published in 1975. It is a pastiche crossover which combines H. G. ...

'' by

Manly Wade Wellman Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as ''Astounding Stories'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Unknown'' and ''Strange Stories'', Wellman is ...

and Wade Wellman, the 1976 novel ''

The Second War of the Worlds ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by

George H. Smith George Hamilton Smith (February 10, 1949 – April 8, 2022) was an American author, editor, educator, and speaker, known for his writings on atheism and libertarianism. Biography Smith grew up mostly in Tucson, Arizona, and attended the Unive ...

, the 1976 novel ''

The Space Machine ''The Space Machine'', subtitled ''A Scientific Romance'', is a science fiction novel written by English writer Christopher Priest. First published in 1976, it follows the travels of protagonists Edward Turnbull and Amelia Fitzgibbon. The pair ...

'' by Christopher Priest, the 2002 short story " Ulla, Ulla" by Eric Brown, and the 2017 novel ''

The Massacre of Mankind ''The Massacre of Mankind'' (2017) is a science fiction novel by British writer Stephen Baxter, a sequel to H. G. Wells' 1898 classic ''The War of the Worlds'', authorised by the Wells estate. It is set in 1920, 13 years after the events of the ...

'' by Stephen Baxter.

Life on Mars

The term ''Martians'' typically refers to inhabitants of Mars that are similar to humans in terms of having such things as

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

and

civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Ci ...

, though it is also occasionally used to refer to

extraterrestrials Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...

in general. These inhabitants of Mars have variously been depicted as enlightened, evil, and decadent. Martians have also been equated with humans in different ways. They are the descendants of humans from Earth in some works such as the 1889 novel '' Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet'' by

Hugh MacColl Hugh MacColl (before April 1885 spelled as Hugh McColl; 1831–1909) was a Scottish mathematician, logician and novelist. Life MacColl was the youngest son of a poor Highland family that was at least partly Gaelic-speaking. Hugh's father died w ...

, where a close approach between Mars and Earth in the past allowed some humans to get to Mars, and the 1922 novel ''

Aelita ''Aelita'' (russian: Аэли́та, ), also known as ''Aelita: Queen of Mars'', is a 1924 Soviet silent film, silent science fiction film directed by Yakov Protazanov and produced at the Gorky Film Studio, Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio. It was b ...

'' by

Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (russian: link= no, Алексей Николаевич Толстой; – 23 February 1945) was a Russian writer who wrote in many genres but specialized in science fiction and historical novels. Despite having ...

where they are descended from inhabitants of the lost civilization of

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

. Conversely, humans are revealed to be the descendants of Martians in the 1954 short story " Survey Team" by Philip K. Dick. Human settlers take on the new identity of Martians in the 1946 short story " The Million Year Picnic" by

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

(later included in the 1950

fix-up A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame s ...

novel ''

The Martian Chronicles ''The Martian Chronicles'' is a science fiction fix-up novel, published in 1950, by American writer Ray Bradbury that chronicles the exploration and settlement of Mars, the home of indigenous Martians, by Americans leaving a troubled Earth th ...

''), and this theme of "becoming Martians" came to be a recurring motif in Martian fiction toward the end of the century.

Enlightened

Klaatu - screenshot from trailer for Day the Earth Stood Still

The portrayal of Martians as superior to Earthlings appeared throughout the

utopian fiction Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...

of the late 1800s. In-depth treatment of the nuances of the concept was pioneered by

Kurd Lasswitz Kurd Lasswitz (german: link=no, Kurd Laßwitz; 20 April 1848 – 17 October 1910) was a German author, scientist, and philosopher. He has been called "the father of German science fiction". He sometimes used the pseudonym ''Velatus''. Biograph ...

with the 1897 novel '' Auf zwei Planeten'', wherein the Martians visit Earth to share their more advanced knowledge with humans and gradually end up acting as an occupying colonial power. Martians sharing wisdom or knowledge with humans is a recurring element in these stories, and some works such as the 1952 novel ''

David Starr, Space Ranger ''David Starr, Space Ranger'' is the first novel in the ''Lucky Starr'' series, six juvenile science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov that originally appeared under the pseudonym Paul French. The novel was written between 10 June and 29 July 19 ...

'' by

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

depict Martians sharing their advanced technology with the inhabitants of Earth. Several depictions of enlightened Martians have a religious dimension: in the 1938 novel ''

Out of the Silent Planet ''Out of the Silent Planet'' is a science fiction novel by the British author C. S. Lewis, first published in 1938 by John Lane, The Bodley Head. Two sequels were published in 1943 and 1945, completing the ''Space Trilogy''. Plot While on a ...

'' by

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

, Martians are depicted as

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

beings free from

original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...

, the Martian Klaatu who visits Earth in the 1951 film ''

The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (a.k.a. ''Farewell to the Master'' and ''Journey to the World'') is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Renn ...

'' is a

Christ figure A Christ figure, also known as a Christ-Image is a literary technique that the author uses to draw allusions between their characters and the biblical Jesus. More loosely, the Christ figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus ...

, and the 1961 novel ''

Stranger in a Strange Land ''Stranger in a Strange Land'' is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by ...

'' by

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

revolves around a human raised by Martians who brings their religion to Earth as a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

. In comics, the superhero

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and designed by artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" ...

first appeared in 1955. In the 1956 novel '' No Man Friday'' by Rex Gordon, an astronaut stranded on Mars encounters

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

Martians and feels compelled to omit the human history of warfare lest they think of humans as savage creatures akin to cannibals.

Evil

The seminal depiction of Martians as evil creatures was the 1897 novel ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

This characterization dominated the pulp era of science fiction, appearing in works such as the 1928 short story "

The Menace of Mars ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

" by

Clare Winger Harris Clare Winger Harris (January 18, 1891 – October 26, 1968) was an early science fiction writer whose short stories were published during the 1920s. She is credited as the first woman to publish stories under her own name in science fiction mag ...

, the 1931 short story "

Monsters of Mars A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

" by

Edmond Hamilton Edmond Moore Hamilton (October 21, 1904 – February 1, 1977) was an American writer of science fiction during the mid-twentieth century. Early life Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was raised there and in nearby New Castle, Pennsylvania. So ...

, and the 1935 short story "

Mars Colonizes Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosph ...

" by

Miles J. Breuer Miles John Breuer (January 3, 1889 – October 14, 1945) was an American physician and science fiction writer of Czech origin. Although he had published elsewhere since the early 20th century, he is considered the part of the first generation of ...

. It quickly became regarded as a

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

and inspired a kind of

countermovement A countermovement in sociology means a social movement opposed to another social movement. Whenever one social movement starts up, another group establishes themselves to undermine the previous group. Many social movements start out as an effect ...

that portrayed Martians as meek in works like the 1933 short story "

The Forgotten Man of Space ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

" by

P. Schuyler Miller Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic. Life Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...

and the 1934 short story "

Old Faithful Old Faithful is a cone geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States. It was named in 1870 during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to be named. It is a highly predictable geotherma ...

" by

Raymond Z. Gallun Raymond Zinke Gallun (March 22, 1911 – April 2, 1994) was an American science fiction writer. Early life Gallun (rhymes with "balloon") was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, the son of Adolph and Martha Zinke Gallun. He graduated from high scho ...

. Outside of the pulps, the

alien invasion The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people ...

theme pioneered by Wells appeared in

Olaf Stapledon William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) – known as Olaf Stapledon – was a British philosopher and author of science fiction.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures ...

's 1930 novel ''

Last and First Men ''Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future'' is a "future history" science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon. A work of unprecedented scale in the genre, it describes the history of humanity from t ...

''—with the twist that the invading Martians are cloud-borne and microscopic, and neither aliens nor humans recognize the other as a sentient species. In film, this theme gained popularity in 1953 with the releases of ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' and '' Invaders from Mars''; later films about Martian invasions of Earth include the 1954 film ''

Devil Girl from Mars ''Devil Girl from Mars'' is a 1954 British black-and-white science fiction film, produced by the Danziger Brothers, directed by David MacDonald and starring Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, Peter Reynolds, and Adrienne Corri. It ...

'', the 1962 film '' The Day Mars Invaded Earth'', a 1986 remake of ''Invaders from Mars'' and three different adaptations of ''The War of the Worlds'' in 2005. Martians attacking humans who come to Mars appear in the 1948 short story "

Mars Is Heaven! "Mars Is Heaven!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, originally published in 1948 in ''Planet Stories''. "Mars Is Heaven!" was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of t ...

" by Ray Bradbury (later revised and included in ''The Martian Chronicles'' as "The Third Expedition"), where they use

telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

abilities to impersonate the humans' deceased loved ones before killing them. Comical portrayals of evil Martians appear in the 1954 novel ''

Martians, Go Home ''Martians, Go Home'' is a science fiction comic novel by American writer Fredric Brown, published in the magazine '' Astounding Science Fiction'' in September 1954 and later by E. P. Dutton in 1955. The novel concerns a writer who witnesses an ...

'' by

Fredric Brown Fredric Brown (October 29, 1906 – March 11, 1972) was an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer.D. J. McReynolds, "The Short Fiction of Fredric Brown" in Frank N. Magill, (ed.) ''Survey of Science Fiction Literature'', Vol. 4 ...

, where they are

little green men Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoid creatures with green skin and sometimes with antennae on their heads. The term is also sometimes used to describe gremlins, mythical creatures known for cau ...

who wreak havoc by exposing secrets and lies; in the form of the cartoon character

Marvin the Martian Marvin the Martian is an extraterrestrial character from Warner Bros.' ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons. He frequently appears as a villain in cartoons and video games, and wears a helmet and skirt. The character has been voice ...

introduced in the 1948 short "

Haredevil Hare ''Haredevil Hare'' is a 1948 ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. It stars Bugs Bunny and it is the debut for Marvin the Martian — although he is unnamed in this film—along with his Martian dog, K-9. Marvin's nasal voice ...

", who seeks to destroy Earth to get a better view of Venus; and in the 1996 film ''

Mars Attacks! ''Mars Attacks!'' is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film directed by Tim Burton, who also co-produced it with Larry J. Franco. The screenplay by Jonathan Gems was based on the Topps trading card series of the same name. The film featu ...

'', a pastiche of 1950s alien invasion films.

Decadent

Martians characterized by decadence were first portrayed in the 1905 novel '' Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation'' by

Edwin Lester Arnold Edwin Lester Linden Arnold (14 May 1857 – 1 March 1935) was an English author. Most of his works were issued under his working name of Edwin Lester Arnold. Life and literary career Arnold was born in Swanscombe, Kent, as son of Sir Edwin Arnol ...

, one of the earliest examples of the

planetary romance Planetary romance is a subgenre of science fiction in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds. Some planetary romances take place ag ...

subgenre. The idea was developed further and popularized by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the 1912–1943 '' Barsoom'' series starting with ''

A Princess of Mars ''A Princess of Mars'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine ''All-Story Magazine'' from February–July, 1912. Full of swordplay and dari ...

''. Burroughs presents a Mars in need of human intervention to regain its vitality, a place where violence has replaced sexual desire. This version of Mars functions as a kind of stand-in for the bygone

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...

, where protagonist John Carter—a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

veteran of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

who is made superhumanly strong by the lower

gravity of Mars The gravity of Mars is a natural phenomenon, due to the law of gravity, or gravitation, by which all things with mass around the planet Mars are brought towards it. It is weaker than Earth's gravity due to the planet's smaller mass. The average ...

—encounters indigenous Martians representing Native Americans. Burroughs' vision of Mars would go on to have an influence approaching but not quite reaching Wells', inspiring among others

C. L. Moore Catherine Lucille Moore (January 24, 1911 – April 4, 1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, who first came to prominence in the 1930s writing as C. L. Moore. She was among the first women to write in the science fiction and ...

's stories about

Northwest Smith Northwest Smith is a fictional character, and the hero of a series of stories by science fiction writer C. L. Moore. Story setting Smith is a spaceship pilot and smuggler who lives in an undisclosed future time when humanity has colonized the ...

starting with the 1933 short story "

Shambleau "Shambleau" is a short story by American science fiction and fantasy writer C. L. Moore. Though it was her first professional sale, it is her most famous story. It first appeared in the November 1933 issue of ''Weird Tales'' and has been reprinte ...

". Another author who followed Burroughs' lead in the decadent portrayal of Mars and its inhabitants—while updating the politics to reflect shifting attitudes toward

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

and

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

in the intervening years—was

Leigh Brackett Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 18, 1978) was an American science fiction writer known as "the Queen of Space Opera." She was also a screenwriter, known for '' The Big Sleep'' (1946), '' Rio Bravo'' (1959), and '' The Long Go ...

in works such as the 1940 short story "

Martian Quest Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a Setting (narrative), setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. ...

" and the 1944 novel ''

Shadow Over Mars ''Shadow Over Mars'' is the debut science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, published in 1944. Publication The novel was first published in the Fall 1944 issue of ''Startling Stories''. Its first book publication came in 1951 with ...

'', as well as the stories about

Eric John Stark Eric John Stark is a character created by the science fiction author Leigh Brackett. Stark is the hero of a series of pulp adventures set in a time when the Solar System has been colonized. His origin-story shares some characteristics with feral ...

including the 1949 short story " Queen of the Martian Catacombs" and the 1951 short story "

Black Amazon of Mars ''People of the Talisman'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, set on the planet Mars, whose protagonist is Eric John Stark. This story was first published under the title ''Black Amazon of Mars'' in the pulp magazine ...

" (later expanded into the 1964 novels ''

The Secret of Sinharat ''The Secret of Sinharat'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, set on the planet Mars_in_fiction#Mars_in_fiction_before_Mariner, Mars, whose protagonist is Eric John Stark. The novel is expanded from the novella "Queen o ...

'' and '' People of the Talisman'', respectively). In the 1950 film ''

Rocketship X-M ''Rocketship X-M'' (a.k.a. ''Expedition Moon'' and originally ''Rocketship Expedition Moon'') is a 1950 American black-and-white science fiction film from Robert L. Lippert, Lippert Pictures, the first outer space adventure of the post-World War ...

'', Martians are depicted as disfigured

cavepeople The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as "simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin Bou ...

inhabiting a barren wasteland, descendants of the few survivors of a

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...

, while in the 1963 novel ''

The Man Who Fell to Earth ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' is a 1976 British science fiction drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg. Based on Walter Tevis's 1963 novel of the same name, the film follows an extraterrestrial (Thomas Jerome Newt ...

'' by

Walter Tevis Walter Stone Tevis (February 28, 1928 – August 9, 1984) was an American novelist and short story writer. Three of his six novels were adapted into major films: ''The Hustler'', ''The Color of Money'' and ''The Man Who Fell to Earth''. A fourth, ...

a survivor of nuclear holocaust on Mars comes to Earth for refuge but finds it to be similarly corrupt and degenerate. Inverting the premise of Heinlein's ''Stranger in a Strange Land'', the 1963 short story "

A Rose for Ecclesiastes "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" is a science fiction short story by American author Roger Zelazny, first published in the November 1963 issue of ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' with a special wraparound cover painting by Hannes Bok. I ...

" by

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...

sees decadent Martians visited by a preacher from Earth.

Past and non-humanoid life

In some stories where Mars is not inhabited by humanoid lifeforms, it used to be in the past or is inhabited by other types of lifeforms. The ruins of extinct Martian civilizations are depicted in the 1943 short story "

Lost Art Lost artworks are original pieces of art that credible sources indicate once existed but that cannot be accounted for in museums or private collections or are known to have been destroyed deliberately or accidentally, or neglected through igno ...

" by George O. Smith where their

perpetual motion machine Perpetual motion is the motion of bodies that continues forever in an unperturbed system. A perpetual motion machine is a hypothetical machine that can do work infinitely without an external energy source. This kind of machine is impossible, a ...

is recreated and the 1957 short story " Omnilingual" by

H. Beam Piper Henry Beam Piper (March 23, 1904 – ) was an American science fiction writer. He wrote many short stories and several novels. He is best known for his extensive Terro-Human Future History series of stories and a shorter series of "Paratime" alt ...

where their fifty-thousand-year-old language is deciphered, while the 1933 novel ''

The Outlaws of Mars ''The Outlaws of Mars'' is a science fiction novel by Otis Adelbert Kline in the planetary romance subgenre pioneered by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was originally serialized in seven parts in the magazine '' Argosy'' beginning in November 1933. It ...

'' by

Otis Adelbert Kline Otis Adelbert Kline (July 1, 1891 – October 24, 1946) born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, was a songwriter, an adventure novelist and literary agent during the pulp era. Much of his work first appeared in the magazine ''Weird Tales''. Kline was an ...

and the 1949 novel ''

The Sword of Rhiannon ''The Sword of Rhiannon'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, set in her usual venue of Mars. A 1942 Brackett story, "The Sorcerer of Rhiannon", also uses the name; however, it is the name of a place rather than a charac ...

'' by Leigh Brackett employ

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

to set stories in the past when Mars was still alive. The 1934 short story "

A Martian Odyssey "A Martian Odyssey" is a science fiction short story by American writer Stanley G. Weinbaum originally published in the July 1934 issue of ''Wonder Stories''. It was Weinbaum's second published story (in 1933 he had sold a romantic novel, ''The ...

" by Stanley G. Weinbaum broke new ground in portraying an entire Martian

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

wholly unlike that of Earth—inhabited by various species that are alien in anatomy and inscrutable in behaviour—and in depicting extraterrestrial life that is non-human and intelligent without being hostile. One Martian creature called

Tweel The Tweel (a portmanteau of ''tire'' and ''wheel'') is an airless tire design developed by the France, French tire company Michelin. Its significant advantage over pneumatic tires is that the Tweel does not use a bladder full of compressed air ...

is found to be intelligent, but have thought processes so inhuman that it is impossible for the alien and the human it encounters to learn each other's languages, and they can only communicate rudimentarily through the

universal language Universal language may refer to a hypothetical or historical language spoken and understood by all or most of the world's people. In some contexts, it refers to a means of communication said to be understood by all humans. It may be the idea of ...

of

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. Isaac Asimov would later say that this story met the challenge

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called '' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...

made to science fiction writers in the 1940s: to write a creature who thinks at least as well as humans, yet not ''like'' humans. Three different species of intelligent lifeforms appear on Mars in C. S. Lewis' 1938 novel ''Out of the Silent Planet'', only one of which is humanoid. In the 1943 short story " The Cave" by

P. Schuyler Miller Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic. Life Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...

, various lifeforms endure on Mars long after the civilization that used to exist there has driven itself to

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

through

ecological collapse Ecological collapse refers to a situation where an ecosystem suffers a drastic, possibly permanent, reduction in carrying capacity for all organisms, often resulting in mass extinction. Usually, an ecological collapse is precipitated by a disastro ...

. The 1951 novel ''

The Sands of Mars ''The Sands of Mars'' is a science fiction novel by English writer Arthur C. Clarke. While he was already popular as a short story writer and as a magazine contributor, ''The Sands of Mars'' was also a prelude to Clarke's becoming one of the ...

'' by Arthur C. Clarke features some indigenous life in the form of oxygen-producing plants and Martian creatures resembling Earth

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

s, but otherwise depicts a mostly desolate environment—reflecting then-emerging data about the scarcity of life-sustaining resources on Mars. Other novels of the 1950s likewise limited themselves to rudimentary lifeforms such as

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.tumbleweed A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumble ...

that could conceivably exist in the absence of any appreciable atmosphere or quantities of water.

Lifeless Mars

In light of the ''

Mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

'' and ''

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'' probes to Mars between 1965 and 1976 revealing the planet's inhospitable conditions, almost all fiction started to portray Mars as a lifeless world. The disappointment of finding Mars to be hostile to life is reflected in the 1970 novel ''

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'' by

Luděk Pešek Luděk Pešek (April 26, 1919 – December 4, 1999) was a Czech artist and novelist noted for his representations of astronomical subjects. Born in Kladno in what is now the Czech Republic, he died in Stäfa, Switzerland. The asteroid 6584 Ludekp ...

, which depicts the members of an

astrobiological Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investig ...

expedition on Mars driven to despair by the realization that their search for life there is futile. A handful of authors still found ways to place life on the red planet: microbial life exists on Mars in the 1977 novel ''The Martian Inca'' by Ian Watson (author), Ian Watson, and intelligent life is found in hibernation there in the 1977 short story "In the Hall of the Martian Kings" by John Varley (author), John Varley. By the turn of the millennium, the idea of microbial life on Mars gained popularity, appearing in the 1999 novel ''The Martian Race'' by Gregory Benford and the 2001 novel ''The Secret of Life (novel), The Secret of Life'' by Paul J. McAuley.

Human survival

As stories about an inhabited Mars fell out of favour in the mid-1900s amid mounting evidence of the planet's inhospitable nature, they were replaced by stories about enduring the harsh conditions of the planet. Themes in this tradition include Space colonization, colonization, terraforming, and pure survival stories.

Colonization

The colonization of Mars became a major theme in science fiction in the 1950s. The central piece of Martian fiction in this era was

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

's 1950

fix-up A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame s ...

novel ''

The Martian Chronicles ''The Martian Chronicles'' is a science fiction fix-up novel, published in 1950, by American writer Ray Bradbury that chronicles the exploration and settlement of Mars, the home of indigenous Martians, by Americans leaving a troubled Earth th ...

'', which contains a series of loosely connected stories depicting the first few decades of human efforts to colonize Mars. Unlike later works on this theme, ''The Martian Chronicles'' makes no attempt at realism (Mars has a breathable atmosphere, for instance, even though spectrographic analysis had at that time revealed no detectable amounts of oxygen); Bradbury said that "Mars is a mirror, not a crystal" to be used in fiction for social commentary rather than predicting the future. Contemporary issues touched upon in the book include McCarthyism in "Usher II", Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation and lynching in the United States in "Way in the Middle of the Air", and nuclear anxiety throughout. There are also several allusions to the European colonization of the Americas: the first few missions to Mars in the book encounter Martians, with direct references to both Hernán Cortés and the Trail of Tears, but the indigenous population soon goes extinct due to chickenpox in a parallel to the Virgin soil epidemic, virgin soil epidemics that Native American disease and epidemics, devastated Native American populations as a result of the Columbian exchange. The majority of works about colonizing Mars nevertheless endeavoured to portray the challenges of doing so realistically. The hostile environment of the planet is countered by the colonists bringing life-support systems in works like the 1951 novel ''

The Sands of Mars ''The Sands of Mars'' is a science fiction novel by English writer Arthur C. Clarke. While he was already popular as a short story writer and as a magazine contributor, ''The Sands of Mars'' was also a prelude to Clarke's becoming one of the ...

'' by Arthur C. Clarke and the 1966 short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick, while the early colonists during the centuries-long terraforming process in the 1953 short story "Crucifixus Etiam" by Walter M. Miller Jr. are dependent on Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a machine that oxygenates their blood from the thin atmosphere, and the scarcity of oxygen even after generations of terraforming forces the colonists to live in a domed city in the 1953 novel ''Police Your Planet'' by Lester del Rey. In the 1955 fix-up novel ''Alien Dust'' by Edwin Charles Tubb, colonists are unable to return to a life on Earth because inhaling the Martian dust has given them pneumoconiosis and the lower gravity has Muscle atrophy, atrophied their muscles. Mars colonies seeking independence from or outright revolting against Earth is a recurring motif; in del Rey's ''Police Your Planet'' a revolution is precipitated by Earth using unrest against the colony's corrupt mayor as a pretext for bringing Mars under firmer Terran control, and in Tubb's ''Alien Dust'' the colonists Nuclear blackmail, threaten Earth with nuclear weapons unless their demands for necessary resources are met. In the 1952 short story "The Martian Way" by

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, Martian colonists Space mining, extract water from the rings of Saturn so as not to depend on importing water from Earth. Besides direct conflicts with Earth, Mars colonies get other kinds of unfavourable treatment in several works. Mars is a dilapidated colony and neglected in favour of locations outside of the Solar System in the 1967 novel ''Born Under Mars'' by John Brunner (author), John Brunner, a place where political dissidents and criminals are exiled in ''Police Your Planet'', and the site of an outright prison colony in the 1966 novel ''Farewell, Earth's Bliss'' by David G. Compton.

Terraforming

Clarke's ''The Sands of Mars'' features one of the earliest depictions of Terraforming of Mars, terraforming Mars to make it more hospitable to human life; in the novel, the atmosphere of Mars is made breathable by plants that release Oxide mineral, oxygen from minerals in the Martian soil, and the Climate of Mars, climate is improved by creating an artificial sun. The theme appeared occasionally in other 1950s works like the aforementioned "Crucifixus Etiam" and ''Police Your Planet'', but largely fell out of favour in the 1960s as the scale of the associated challenges became apparent. A resurgence of popularity of the terraforming theme began to emerge in the late 1970s in light of data from the ''

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

'' probes suggesting that there are substantial quantities of non-liquid and sub-surface water on Mars; among the earliest such works are the 1977 novel ''The Martian Inca'' by Ian Watson (author), Ian Watson and the 1978 novel ''A Double Shadow'' by Frederick Turner (poet), Frederick Turner. Works depicting the terraforming of Mars continued to appear throughout the 1980s. The 1984 novel ''The Greening of Mars'' by James Lovelock and Michael Allaby, a study on how Mars might be settled and terraformed presented in the form of a fiction narrative, was influential on science and fiction alike.

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...

was an early prolific writer on the subject with the 1982 short story "Exploring Fossil Canyon", the 1984 novel ''Icehenge'', and the 1985 short story "Green Mars (novella), Green Mars". Turner revisited the concept in 1988 with ''Genesis (poem), Genesis'', a 10,000-line Epic poetry, epic poem written in iambic pentameter, and Ian McDonald (British author), Ian McDonald combined terraforming with Magic realism, magical realism in the 1988 novel ''Desolation Road''. By the 1990s, terraforming had become the predominant theme in Martian fiction. Various methods for accomplishing it were depicted, including ancient alien artefacts in the 1990 film ''Total Recall (1990 film), Total Recall'' (a loose adaptation of Dick's "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale") and the 1997 novel ''Mars Underground (novel), Mars Underground'' by William Kenneth Hartmann, utilizing indigenous animal lifeforms in the 1991 novel ''The Martian Rainbow'' by Robert L. Forward, and relocating the entire planet to a new Planetary system, solar system in the 1993 novel ''Moving Mars'' by Greg Bear. The 1993 novel ''Red Dust (McAuley novel), Red Dust'' by Paul J. McAuley portrays Mars in the process of reverting to its natural state after an abandoned attempt at terraforming it. With a Mars settled primarily by China, ''Red Dust'' also belongs to a tradition of portraying a multicultural Mars that developed parallel to the rise to prominence of the terraforming theme. Other such works include the 1989 novel ''Crescent in the Sky'' by Donald Moffitt, where Arabs apply their experience with surviving in desert conditions to living in their new caliphate on a partially terraformed Mars, and the 1991 novel ''The Martian Viking'' by Tim Sullivan (writer), Tim Sullivan where Mars is terraformed by Geats led by Hygelac. The most prominent work of fiction dealing with the subject of terraforming Mars is the ''Mars'' trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson (consisting of the novels ''Red Mars'' from 1992, ''Green Mars'' from 1993, and ''Blue Mars'' from 1996), a hard science fiction story of a United Nations project wherein 100 carefully selected scientists are sent to Mars to start the first settlement there. The series explores in depth the various practical and ideological considerations involved, the principal one being whether to turn Mars "Green" by terraforming or keep it in its pristine "Red" state. Other major topics include the social and economic organization of the emerging Martian society and its political relationship to Earth and the Multinational corporation, multinational economic interests that finance the mission, revisiting the earlier themes of Mars as a setting for utopia—albeit in this case one in the making rather than a pre-existing one—and Martian struggle for independence from Earth. Alternatives to terraforming have also been explored. The opposite approach of modifying humans to adapt them to the existing environment, known as pantropy, appears in the 1976 novel ''Man Plus'' by Frederik Pohl but has otherwise been sparsely depicted. The conflict between pantropy and terraforming is explored in the 1994 novel ''Climbing Olympus'' by Kevin J. Anderson, as the humans that have been "areoformed" to survive on Mars do not wish the planet to be altered to accommodate unmodified humans at their expense. Other works where terraforming is eschewed in favour of alternatives include the 1996 novel ''River of Dust'' by Alexander Jablokov, where the settlers create a liveable environment by burrowing underground.

Robinsonades

Martian robinsonades—stories of astronauts stranded on Mars—emerged in the 1950s with works such as the 1952 novel ''Marooned on Mars'' by Lester del Rey and the 1956 novel '' No Man Friday'' by Rex Gordon. They remained popular throughout the 1960s; examples include the 1966 novel ''Welcome to Mars'' by James Blish and the 1964 film ''Robinson Crusoe on Mars''. The subgenre was later revisited with the 2011 novel ''The Martian (Weir novel), The Martian'' by Andy Weir and its The Martian (film), 2015 film adaptation.

Nostalgic depictions

While most stories by the middle of the century acknowledged that advances in planetary science had rendered previous notions about the conditions of Mars obsolete and portrayed the planet accordingly, some continued to depict a romantic version of Mars rather than a realistic one. Besides the stories of

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

's 1950

fix-up A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame s ...

novel ''

The Martian Chronicles ''The Martian Chronicles'' is a science fiction fix-up novel, published in 1950, by American writer Ray Bradbury that chronicles the exploration and settlement of Mars, the home of indigenous Martians, by Americans leaving a troubled Earth th ...

'', another early example of this was the 1949 novel '' Red Planet'' by

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

where Mars has a breathable atmosphere, a diverse ecosystem including sentient Martians, and Lowellian canals. Martian canals remained a prominent symbol of this backward-looking vision of Mars, appearing even in comparatively highbrow science fiction works like the 1963 novel ''

The Man Who Fell to Earth ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' is a 1976 British science fiction drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg. Based on Walter Tevis's 1963 novel of the same name, the film follows an extraterrestrial (Thomas Jerome Newt ...

'' by

Walter Tevis Walter Stone Tevis (February 28, 1928 – August 9, 1984) was an American novelist and short story writer. Three of his six novels were adapted into major films: ''The Hustler'', ''The Color of Money'' and ''The Man Who Fell to Earth''. A fourth, ...

and the 1964 novel ''Martian Time-Slip'' by Philip K. Dick. Some works attempted to reconcile both visions of Mars, one example being the 1952 novel ''Marooned on Mars'' by Lester del Rey where the presumed canals turn out to be rows of vegetables and the only animal life is primitive. As the Space Age commenced the divide between portraying Mars as it was and as it had previously been imagined deepened, and the discoveries of

Mariner 4 Mariner 4 (together with Mariner 3 known as Mariner-Mars 1964) was the Mariner program, fourth in a series of spacecraft intended for planetary exploration in a flyby mode. It was designed to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and ...

in 1965 solidified it. Some authors simply ignored the scientific findings, such as Lin Carter who included intelligent Martians in the 1973 novel ''The Man Who Loved Mars'', and

Leigh Brackett Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 18, 1978) was an American science fiction writer known as "the Queen of Space Opera." She was also a screenwriter, known for '' The Big Sleep'' (1946), '' Rio Bravo'' (1959), and '' The Long Go ...

who declared in the foreword to ''The Coming of the Terrans'' (a 1967 collection of earlier short stories) that "in the affairs of men and Martians, mere fact runs a poor second to Truth, which is mighty and shall prevail". Others were cognizant of them and used various workarounds: Frank Herbert invented the fictional Extrasolar Planet, extrasolar Mars-like planet Arrakis for the 1965 novel ''Dune (novel), Dune'' rather than setting the story on Mars, Robert F. Young set the 1979 short story "The First Mars Mission" in 1957 so as not to have to take the findings of Mariner 4 into account, and Colin Greenland set the 1993 novel ''Harm's Way (Greenland novel), Harm's Way'' in the 1800s with corresponding scientific concepts like the luminiferous aether. The urge to recapture the romantic vision of Mars is reflected as part of the story in the 1968 novel ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' by Philip K. Dick, where the people living on a desolate Mars enjoy reading old stories about the lifeful Mars that never was. Martian face viking cropped

Following the arrival of the ''

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

'' probes in 1976, the so-called "Face on Mars" superseded the Martian canals as the most central symbol of nostalgic depictions of Mars. The "Face" is a rock formation in the Cydonia (Mars), Cydonia region of Mars first photographed by the ''Viking 1'' orbiter under conditions that made it resemble a human face; higher-quality photographs taken by subsequent probes under different lighting conditions revealed this to be a case of pareidolia. It was popularized by Richard C. Hoagland, who interpreted it as an artificial construction by intelligent extraterrestrials, and has appeared in works of fiction including the 1992 novel ''Labyrinth of Night'' by Allen Steele, the 1995 short story "The Great Martian Pyramid Hoax" by Jerry Oltion, and the 1998 novel ''Semper Mars'' by Ian Douglas (author), Ian Douglas. Outside of literature, it has made appearances in Space (The X-Files), a 1993 episode of ''The X-Files'', the 2000 film ''Mission to Mars'', and Where the Buggalo Roam, a 2002 episode of the animated television show ''Futurama''. Deliberately nostalgic homages to older works have continued to appear through the turn of the millennium. In the 1999 novel ''Rainbow Mars'' by Larry Niven, a Time travel in fiction, time traveller goes to visit Mars' past but instead appears in the Parallel universes in fiction, parallel universe of Mars' fictional past and encounters the creations of science fiction authors such as

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Edgar Rice Burroughs. Stories by various authors collected in Peter Crowther's 2002 anthology ''Mars Probes'' pay tribute to the works of Stanley G. Weinbaum and

Leigh Brackett Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 18, 1978) was an American science fiction writer known as "the Queen of Space Opera." She was also a screenwriter, known for '' The Big Sleep'' (1946), '' Rio Bravo'' (1959), and '' The Long Go ...

, among others. Similarly, the 2013 anthology ''Old Mars'' edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois consists of newly-written stories in the

planetary romance Planetary romance is a subgenre of science fiction in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds. Some planetary romances take place ag ...

style of older stories whose visions of Mars are now outdated; Martin compared it to the common practice of setting Western (genre), Westerns in a romanticized version of the Old West rather than a more realistic one.

First landings

Stories about the first

human mission to Mars The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Some have also considered exploring the Martian moons of Phobos (moon), Phob ...

became popular after US president George H. W. Bush Space Exploration Initiative, proposed in 1989 to accomplish this feat by 2019. Among these are the 1992 novel ''Beachhead (novel), Beachhead'' by Jack Williamson and the 1992 novel ''Mars (novel), Mars'' in Ben Bova's Grand Tour (novel series), ''Grand Tour'' series. The concept had earlier appeared in the 1977 film ''Capricorn One'', wherein NASA fakes the Mars landing. The idea was spoofed in the 1990 novel ''Voyage to the Red Planet'' by Terry Bisson, which posits that a mission like that could only get funding by being turned into a movie. Stephen Baxter's 1996 novel ''Voyage (novel), Voyage'' depicts an alternate history where US president John F. Kennedy was not Assassination of John F. Kennedy, assassinated in 1963, ultimately leading to the first Mars landing happening in 1986. The 1999 novel ''The Martian Race'' by Gregory Benford adapts the Mars Direct proposal by Robert Zubrin to fiction by depicting a private sector competition to conduct the first crewed Mars landing with a large monetary reward attached. Zubrin would later write a story of his own along the same lines: the 2001 novel ''First Landing''. In a variation on the theme, the 2002 short story "The Old Cosmonaut and the Construction Worker Dream of Mars" by Ian McDonald (British author), Ian McDonald portrays the lingering yearning for Mars in a future where the intended first Mars landing was cancelled and the era of space exploration has come to an end without the dream of a human mission to Mars ever being realized.

Moons

Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, which were both discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877. The first appearance of the moons of Mars in fiction predates their discovery by a century and a half; the Satire, satirical 1726 novel ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift includes a mention that the advanced astronomers of Laputa have discovered two Martian moons. The 1752 work ''Micromégas'' by Voltaire likewise mentions two moons of Mars; astronomy historian William Sheehan surmises that Voltaire was inspired by Swift. The moons' small sizes have made them unpopular settings in science fiction, with some exceptions such as the 1955 novel ''Phobos, the Robot Planet'' by Paul Capon and the 2001 short story "Romance with Phobic Variations" by Tom Purdom in the case of Phobos, and the 1936 short story "Crystals of Madness" by D. L. James in the case of Deimos. Phobos is turned into a small star to provide heat and light to Mars in the 1951 novel ''The Sands of Mars'' by Arthur C. Clarke. In the 1955 juvenile novel ''The Secret of the Martian Moons'' by Donald A. Wollheim, they are revealed to be alien spacecraft.

Early depictions

Means of travel

Canals

Utopias

''The War of the Worlds''

Life on Mars

Enlightened

Evil

Decadent

Past and non-humanoid life

Lifeless Mars

Human survival

Colonization

Terraforming

Robinsonades

Nostalgic depictions

First landings

Moons

References

Further reading