Martian
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As an adjective, the term Martian is used to describe anything pertaining to the planet Mars, however, a Martian is more usually a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been hypothesized, although there is currently no solid evidence of life there. It is possible that the planet harbours or once harboured life, but scientists no longer consider it likely that Mars has ever had intelligent life.
[edit] History of the concept
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 Cydonia for one such claim).
[edit] The real Martians
Because of the prevalence of stories containing Martians, the idea of the Martian was for much of the 20th century 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".
It has been suggested by scientists that life on Earth actually originated on Mars and that life arrived on Earth via a comet (see Panspermia).
