Mars
Where humanity found the Protheans' legacy.
Mars is where humanity's history in the Mass Effect universe turns. In 2148, an alien outpost was discovered at a xenoarchaeological dig on Mars, revealing that humanity had been studied by the Protheans since the Cro-Magnon period.
Quick Facts
- Discovery
- Prothean outpost, 2148
- Game
- Mass Effect 3
Lore & Background
From the Mars discovery humanity learned that Charon is actually a mass relay, an alien artifact that allows faster-than-light travel to other relays across the galaxy. That opened the way to the stars and to first contact with the turians.
Reader's Guide
A Mass Effect tie-in set 35 years before the games tells the story of the discovery of the Prothean ruins on Mars.
In Mass Effect 3, after the Reapers invade Earth, Hackett orders Shepard to Mars, where Liara T'Soni has found plans for a Prothean superweapon capable of destroying the Reapers. Shepard recovers the schematics from the Illusive Man, and the Alliance begins building the device, the Crucible. Shepard's team also recovers a Cerberus infiltration unit, Eva, after an incident at the Mars research station.
More in Systems & Locations
Elsewhere in Mass Effect
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced