The name Martian is given to the hypothetical native inhabitants of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been suggested, and the notion continues into the present day, having such proponents as Courtney Brown. While it remains possible that there is life on Mars, it is currently doubted by the scientific community. A planet in common parlance is a large object in orbit around a star that is not a star itself. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Scientists have long speculated about the possibility of life on Mars, due to that planets proximity and similarity to Earth. ... Courtney Brown, Ph. ... Scientists have long speculated about the possibility of life on Mars, due to that planets proximity and similarity to Earth. ...

The idea of intelligent Martians was popularized by Percival Lowell and in fiction, especially by H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds and Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. Despite the observation by Alfred Wallace that Mars' atmosphere was too thin to support an Earthlike ecology, various depictions of a Martian civilization were popular throughout the twentieth century. The first pictures of Mars returned by space probes dashed hopes of contacting Martians, although dubious claims of past Martian civilizations continued into the twenty-first century. (See face on Mars for one such claim.) Percival observing Mars from the Lowell Observatory. ... H. G. Wells at the door of his house at Sandgate Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. ... The War of the Worlds is a novel written by H.G. Wells in 1898 depicting an alien invasion of the earth. ... Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (b. ... The Martian Chronicles book cover The Martian Chronicles (alternate title in the UK: The Silver Locusts) is a 1950 science fiction book by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by refugee humans from a troubled Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists. ... Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (January 8, 1823 — November 7, 1913) was a British naturalist, geographer, anthropologist and biologist. ... Atmosphere may refer to: a celestial body atmosphere, e. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... (Ecology is sometimes used incorrectly as a synonym for the natural environment. ... A civilization or civilisation has a variety of meanings related to human society. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... Image of the Wikimedia Commons logo. ... Original Viking photo of the Face on Mars The Face on Mars is a large feature on the surface of the planet Mars located in the Cydonia region. ...

Because of the prevalence of stories containing Martians, the idea of "Martian" has become the default identity of extraterrestrial characters in popular culture.

If Mars is one day colonized by humans, the generations descended from the settlers will most likely also be called Martians. Some members of the Mars Society, an organization devoted to such colonization, semi-humorously describe themselves as "Martians in exile". Artists conception of a space habitat called the Stanford torus, by Don Davis Space colonization, also called space settlement and space humanization, is the hypothetical permanent autonomous (self-sufficient) human habitation of locations outside Earth. ... Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens Human beings define themselves in biological, social, and spiritual terms. ... Settlers are people who have travelled of their own choice, from the land of their birth to live in new lands or colonies. ... The Mars Society is a space advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging the exploration and settlement of Mars. ...

For various descriptions of fictional Martians, see Mars in fiction. For discussion on the possibility of Martian micro-organisms, see extraterrestrial life. The dramatic red color and rapid apparent motion of the planet Mars as seen in the sky of Earth has always made it an object of interest, and this was only increased by early scientific speculations that its surface conditions might be capable of supporting life. ... The existence of extraterrestrial life remains hypothetical though human beings continue to search Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside our planet Earth. ...

See also: Martian scientist Perhaps the small green wikipede is a Martian researcher. ...