Martian

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This article is about hypothetical native inhabitants of the planet Mars. For other uses, see Martian (disambiguation).

The word Martian is a hypothetical native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been hypothesized, and the notion that the planet harbours or once harboured life continues to the present day, having such proponents as Courtney Brown. While it is possible that there is or once was life on Mars, there is currently no scientific data to support the notion.

The idea of intelligent Martians was popularized by Percival Lowell and in fiction, especially by Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter (Barsoom) Series, H.G. Wells' The 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 Earth-like ecology, various depictions of a Martian civilization were popular throughout the 20th century. The first pictures of Mars returned by space probes dashed hopes of contacting Martians, although dubious claims of past Martian civilizations have continued into the twenty-first century. (See face on Mars for one such claim.)

The real Martians

Because of the prevalence of stories containing Martians, the idea of the Martian has become the default identity of extraterrestrial characters in popular culture. If Mars is colonized in the future by humans, the generations descended from the settlers may well be called Martians. Some members of the Mars Society, an organization devoted to such colonization, semi-humorously describe themselves as "Martians in exile".

For various descriptions of fictional Martians, see Mars in fiction. For discussion on the possibility of Martian micro-organisms, see extraterrestrial life.

Martian

The real Martians

See also