
The surface today, though cold and dry, boasts some of the largest geological features in the Solar system, including a 5000 km rift valley and canyon system, and a 22 km tall and 600 km wide volcano. Some of these locations were good environments for life, though it is not known whether such life existed. Mars shows evidence of having had a warmer and wetter past in which water flowed across much of the surface for extended periods. Mars has extensive sheets of water-ice on and just below much of the surface, and small amounts of liquid water may occasionally flow in some locations. This engine is excellent for using it for long interplanetary transfers, since the engine has low fuel consumption. It is the second stage counterpart of the Titan Engine and the larger version of the Valiant Engine.

Mars has the most Earth-like surface environment of any planet in the Solar system, with average temperatures in many locations comparable to Antarctica. The Frontier Engine is a high-efficiency and an average thrust engine that is mainly used for second stages and payload carriers that carry heavy payloads. The planet's moderate axial tilt and fairly eccentric orbit yield mild seasons in the north and extreme seasons in the south. Enormous dust storms can grow to cover the entire world. It has a thin carbon dioxide atmosphere which has slowly been escaping to space for billions of years and is too thin to significantly moderate the planet's climate. Mars is the fourth planet in the Solar system and the outermost of the terrestrial (rocky) planets.
