Martian A Martian was an inhabitant of the planet Mars , referring to more than one species on the planet . Native Martians . Several native Martian creatures , such as the Ice Warrior s , evolved on Mars , ( TV : " The Ice Warriors " ) as did many other Martian lifeforms , such as Martian fungi . ( TV : " The Seeds of Death " ) Sentient indigenous species on Mars included the Ice Warriors , the Gandoran s , ( AUDIO : " Lords of the Red Planet " ) the Ninnies , ( PROSE : " The Ninnies on Putney Common " ) and another type simply called " Martians . " ( PROSE : " Enter Wildthyme " ) The Eleventh Doctor referred to the Ice Warriors as " the Martian race " . ( TV : " Cold War " ) There was also a native virus present on Mars . ( TV : " The Waters of Mars " ) Human Martians . By the 22nd century , Mars had been colonised by human s , who , according to one account , pushed the native Ice Warriors into poverty . ( PROSE : " Fear Itself " ) Another account claimed that humanity had colonised Mars unimpeded when — in the words of Harold — after " something to do with T - Mat on the Moon " , " centuries " before the 23rd century , a whole fleet of Ice Warriors were — according to what Gregson Grenville had learnt in school — " all melted when their invasion fleet spiralled into the sun " . This account showed extant Ice Warriors , but all were in suspended animation for — according to the Eighth Doctor — " many millions of years " during the 22nd century . ( AUDIO : " Deimos " ) According to another account , the Tenth Doctor described the Ice Warriors as " legends on Mars from long ago " after the first off - world human colony was founded on Mars in 2058 . ( TV : " The Waters of Mars " ) Once humanity had made Earth itself uninhabitable , the Usurian s saw to it that the humans could move to Mars . ( TV : " The Sun Makers " ) Many humans considered themselves " Martian " after colonisation , as there came a point when humans were regularly being born there . Vel Karneen , commander of Space Army , identified himself as a Martian , for instance ( PROSE : " The Secret of the Mountain " ) — as did the second - in - command of the ADF , Reb Shavron . ( PROSE : " Terror Task Force " ) Martian droids . At some point , Martian droid s were paid in something called " default " . ( TV : " Bad Wolf " ) As colloquialism . Prior to colonisation , many humans simply interchanged the word " Martian " for the term " alien " — much like " flying saucer " was used as a generic term for alien spacecraft . For example , Donna Noble referred to the Tenth Doctor as a Martian before understanding he was , in fact , a Time Lord . ( TV : " The Runaway Bride " ) Likewise , Lucie Miller suggested to Eighth Doctor that she could be a Martian if she was alien . ( AUDIO : " Blood of the Daleks " ) When the Eleventh Doctor said the Cuculus were alien , Harry Houdini asked if they were Martians . ( PROSE : " Houdini and The Space Cuckoos " ) Misidentified Martians . Ostensibly because of this penchant to imagine Mars as a likely source of alien life , some humans occasionally misidentified other species for Martians , just as Donna had done with the Tenth Doctor . ( TV : " The Runaway Bride " ) Daniel Llewellyn , along with the whole world , thought that the Sycorax were from Mars until Major Blake told him that Martians looked completely different . ( TV : " The Christmas Invasion " ) Patrick also initially thought that the Centuripede came from Mars to read other people ' s mail . ( TV : " The Last Oak Tree " ) Behind the scenes . " Daleks Versus the Martians " . The " Daleks Versus the Martians " featured Dr . Who , Susan and Louise from the movies , " Dr . Who and the Daleks " and " Daleks ' Invasion Earth 2150 A . D . " , encountering a different species of native Martians to those encountered by the Doctor in the standard " Doctor Who " universe .