Mars Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ray Bradbury

Published in 1950, "The Martian Chronicles" is a series or collection of short stories that Bradbury had written in the late 1940s. As a collection they almost form an episodic novel. The humans are trying to escape Earth because of a series of conflicts that eventually lead to atomic war and the devastation of the planet.

They flee to Mars and endeavor to colonize the planet but run afoul of the local population.

Answer: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

"The Sirens of Titan" was released in 1959, and it is the second novel of the prolific author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The novel tells the story of Malachi Constant, an extremely wealthy businessman who travels to Mars to prepare for an interplanetary war.

When Malachi returns back to Earth he no longer has the good fortune he once did, and his free will has been stripped from him by a robot.

Answer: Edgar Rice Burroughs

"A Princess of Mars" was published in 1912 and it is the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom" series that features John Carter. Carter is a Confederate veteran of the Civil War who strikes it rich but is on the run because of a slight disagreement with the Apaches.

He hides in a sacred cave and is mysteriously transported to Mars. Because of the planet's lower gravity he finds that he's gained increased strength and superhuman agility. He falls in with a tribe of green Martians called the Tharks, eventually rising to the position of chief, and then gets involved in another civil war, this time between the red and the green Martians.

Answer: Andy Weir

"The Martian" by Andy Weir is set in the year 2035 with the astronaut Mark Watney as its focal point. Watney was a member of a team of scientists that were sent to Mars to study the environmental suitability of establishing a colony there. On the team's sixth Mars day (sol) a vicious dust storm separates Watney from the rest of his team, who eventually leave the planet assuming that he has died. Watney struggles to survive in the harsh conditions but he is eventually rescued by his team. "The Martian" was made into a critically acclaimed film in 2015 that was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Matt Damon in the lead role.

Answer: Stanley G. Weinbaum

Stanley G. Weinbaum's "A Martian Odyssey" was published in 1934 and it was the first of two short stories he wrote about Mars, with the latter being "Valley of Dreams". Set at the turn of the 21st century, "A Martian Odyssey" centers around a chemist named Dick Jarvis who rescues a creature in distress named Tweel. Tweel and Jarvis explore the planet and locate a healing crystal that Jarvis eventually takes back to his crew. During their adventures Tweel saves Jarvis several times from unfriendly Martian creatures.

Answer: Robert Heinlein

Originally written as part of Heinlein's "Juveniles" series, the novel "Red Planet" was released in 1949. It follows the tale of Jim Marlowe and Frank Sutton who, while at boarding school on Mars, uncover an unscrupulous plot being hatched by their headmaster and a colonial administrator.

They escape from the school and set off on a thousand mile journey across the frozen canals of Mars to warn their parents and the rest of the colony.

Answer: Arthur C. Clarke

"The Sands of Mars" was published in 1951 and it was Arthur C. Clarke's first published novel. It depicts a Martin named Gibson who is an author invited to travel to Mars with a new crew. At the colony on Mars he finds that the team are working diligently on making the planet self-sufficient, as the distance to transport supplies from Earth is too great. Along the journey he uncovers intelligent life on Mars and a scheme to turn its moon, Phobos, into a sun that will burn for a thousand years and in the process provide light to allow plants to grow and increase the oxygen supply on the planet. Gibson is in awe of the scheme and decides not to return to Earth.

Answer: Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick's post-apocalyptic novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" was published in 1968 and it inspired the 1982 film "Blade Runner" and its 2017 sequel "Blade Runner 2049". In Dick's novel an organization known as the Rosen Association has been creating androids on Mars that end up rebelling and escaping to Earth.

The main character of the novel is Rick Deckard, who is a bounty hunter tasked with eliminating rogue droids. The title refers to mass extinctions that have prompted people to own lifelike robotic animals such as Deckard's electric sheep and how the androids have become sentient.

Answer: Rex Gordon

"No Man Friday", published in 1956, is also known as "First on Mars". Rex Gordon's story deals with a secret British mission that sees them launch an attempt to land on Mars. An accident happens on board the ship and only one person survives, Gordon Holder, an engineer, who was wearing his space suit at the time of the accident.

The ship crashes on Mars and Holder learns how to create water and oxygen and makes contact with the Martians, becoming friends with them. Fifteen years later an American ship lands on the planet, thinking they are the first humans to do so.

Answer: Percy Greg

"Across the Zodiac" (1880) is one of the earliest science fiction novels to feature Mars. The novel is set in 1830, and it tells of a trip to Mars in which an anti-gravitational energy known as apergy is utilized. Comically, the small lifeforms on Mars do not believe that there is intelligent life outside of Mars, and they attribute their visitor from Earth's large size to him being born in a remote part of Mars.

Interestingly, "Across the Zodiac" is considered to have the first alien language of any work of fiction.