Mars
Native Species:	Martian insects (extinct)
Location:	Sol system Alpha Quadrant
Affiliation:	United Federation of Planets

Mars (or Sol IV) was the fourth planet in the Sol system, located in Sector 001 of the Alpha Quadrant. It was a terrestrial planet about half of that of Earth's radius with a thin atmosphere. The reddish-orange color of the Martian surface was due to the presence of iron(III) oxide, also known as hematite.

Contents 1 Astronomical data 1.1 Location 1.2 Names 1.3 Moons 2 History 2.1 Political 2.2 Terraforming 3 Literature 3.1 Other uses 4 Alternate timelines 5 People 6 Appendices 6.1 Appearances and References 6.2 Background 6.3 Related topics 6.4 External links

Astronomical data Edit

Location Edit

• Alpha Quadrant
  • Sol sector (Sector 001)
    • Sol system

Names Edit

• Sol IV
• Mars

Mars was named after the Roman god of war from Earth's mythology.

Moons Edit

Mars had two small moons named Phobos and Deimos. In mythology, they were the sons of Mars. ^{(citation needed • edit)}

History Edit

Due to its similarity with Earth, scientists believed it might hold life as well. In the early years of space exploration, various theories and projects were made to justify this. Eventually, scientists from Earth discovered microscopic evidence of ancient life on Mars in 1996. Larger fossils were discovered later on. (TNG: "The Last Outpost", "Datalore")

In 1947, several members of the United States military thought Quark, Rom and Nog were from Mars. Jeff Carlson and Faith Garland wondered if they might be able to have their honeymoon there. (DS9: "Little Green Men")

In 1997 the NASA rover Sojourner became the first craft to explore Mars; the location later became a Mars Heritage Site.

In 2032, a manned Earth mission to Mars, the Ares IV, took place under the command of Lieutenant John Kelly. (VOY: "One Small Step"; ENT: "Demons")

The Martian colonies were established in 2103. Having been completed in 2012, the Millennium Gate served as a model for the first colony on the red planet. It pioneered many new technologies and scientific principles like a coverage by highly-reflective solar panels and being constructed as a self-contained biosphere. (VOY: "Lifesigns", "The 37's", "11:59")

In 2269, James T. Kirk argued in favor of having Sargon and his companions take over the bodies of the crew, and emphasized the benefits that it might possibly have on mankind, he explained, "they used to say if man could fly, he'd have wings. But he did fly. He discovered he had to. Do you wish that the first Apollo mission hadn't reached the moon or that we hadn't gone on to Mars or the nearest star?" (TOS: "Return to Tomorrow")

In 2372, Captain Benjamin Sisko and Constable Odo planned for Joseph Sisko and Jake Sisko to take a transport to Mars to avoid being caught in Admiral Leyton's coup d'état. (DS9: "Paradise Lost")

In 2376, Lieutenant Tom Paris mentioned that one of his ancestors flew the first orbital glider over the lower Martian plateau. (VOY: " 11:59")

The Kyrians in 3074 believed that Mars was the home of the USS Voyager, and not Earth as was the truth. A backup version of The Doctor corrected this error. (VOY: "Living Witness")

Political Edit

As the first Human colony on Mars was established in 2103, the Fundamental Declarations of the Martian colonies were an important step in the pursuit of individual rights. Among the first colonists were relatives of Jean-Luc Picard (VOY: "The 37's"; TOS: "Court Martial"; Star Trek Generations). Utopia Planitia was established along with the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in geosynchronous orbit above, where many famous vessels including the USS Enterprise-D, the USS Voyager, and the USS Defiant were built. Mars was also an important part in the defense of the Sol system and the location of the Mars Defense Perimeter. (TOS: "Court Martial"; TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds"; Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual)

Terraforming Edit

Mars was the first planet to be terraformed by Humans. Colonists originally dwelt within domed cities while the verteron array was used to redirect comets and asteroids towards the Red Planet to impact in the polar caps. This freed carbon dioxide and released it into the atmosphere, increasing the planet's temperature and water volume. By 2155, conditions in the lowlands of the Martian surface were sufficiently altered to allow Humans to roam freely without heavy environmental suits (though one would still have to dress warmly for the near-arctic surface temperatures). (ENT: "Demons")

Literature Edit

Mars was often featured in science fiction stories of the 20th century. In 1953, Benny Russell met a vendor in Harlem who found "men from Mars" to be unrealistic. After Douglas Pabst told Russell an African-American in charge of a space station was "not believable", Herbert Rossoff angrily retorted "and men from Mars are?" (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")

Other uses Edit

A product known as "Mars Toothpaste", based on the name of the Roman god, was manufactured on the fourth planet of the 892 system in 2268. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")

Alternate timelines Edit

In an alternate timeline, Mars was wiped out by the Xindi following their destruction of Earth in 2154. (ENT: "Twilight")

Mars of 2371 was affected by the death of Gabriel Bell in 2024. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I")

People Edit

• Alfonse Pacelli
• Helene Pacelli
• Salvatore Pacelli
• Lydia Romaine
• Mira Romaine
• Simon Tarses

Planetary bodies in the Sol system
Mercury • Venus • Earth • Mars • Jupiter • Saturn • Uranus • Neptune • Pluto

Appendices Edit

Appearances and References Edit

Background Edit

An illusory version of Mars was originally to have featured in TOS: "The Cage", with "an almost fairybook vine-covered cottage on one of the rural can-farms of Mars." The story outline for "The Cage" includes not only that description but also makes mention of frequent Martian "hay rides," such as Barth races that the Colonists Grange Society is planning, as well as "a fifty-mile sled ride down the Great Slopes" on the evening after the Barth races. (The Making of Star Trek, pp. 57-58)

The remastered versions of Star Trek: The Original Series show the prominent red planet familiar from the original opening sequence to bear striking resemblance to Mars. Indeed, the producers used real photographs of Mars as textures for this computer-generated shot, showing a large canyon, which is in fact one of the most famous landmarks on Mars: "Valles Marineris", the deepest and longest canyon in the entire Sol system. Furthermore, the large cloud formation lies directly over the "Tharsis plateau", which is a region of increased cloud formation on Mars, too. If the producers really intended the planet to be Mars remains unknown so far. However, the color of its atmosphere glows pink near the day-night boundary, which would contradict this theory, as the Martian atmosphere appears blue during sunrise and sunset. On the other hand, this change of color could be a byproduct of terraforming.

In TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", Mars was shown without any visible surface features besides the poles. Whether intentional or not, this is very similar to the planet's appearance during a global dust storm.

Related topics Edit

• Ares IV
• Carl Sagan Memorial Station
• Martian colonies
  • Fundamental Declarations of the Martian colonies
  • Martian Colony 3
  • Utopia colony
• Mars Defense Perimeter
• Orbital glider
• Starfleet Technical Services Academy
• Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards
• Verteron array

External links Edit

• Mars at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Mars at Wikipedia