Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, and one of the three largest populated bodies in the Inner System (along with Terra and Luna)
Mars has been the subject of a long-term terraforming project which, in the present, has made the entire surface of the planet survivable without environment suits or breathing equipment. However, while largely complete, the terraforming process has been imperfect, leading to an environment that, while survivable, is often less than entirely pleasant.
"They did the grass all wrong—it had the consistency of iron nails. Trees grew circular, with the branches jabbing out as spikes. The flowers smelled like chemicals."
-Star Freighter, S01E06 Wayfaring Strangers
"But I mean, I grew up on Mars. I like it here. I like living in a gravity well and having air outside the windows, even if it smells like turpentine on hot days and the rain is a little gritty."
July Lamaire, S02E01-P1 On Rocky Ground
The surface of Mars is divided into two primary regions: the northern and southern hemispheres. The northern hemisphere, at a lower average altitude than the south, has taken more thoroughly to the Martian terraforming project, becoming temperate and green, while the southern hemisphere remains more arid and desert-like. The southern hemisphere as a whole is sometimes referred to as the Rust Bowl; the planet-encircling escarpment that separates the higher southern hemisphere from the lowlands in the north has come to be known as the Rust Belt.
City names on Mars tend to reflect their history and location on the planet: