What name does C.S. Lewis give Mars in the Space Trilogy?

C.S. Lewis calls Mars Malacandra in the Space Trilogy.

Malacandra is the name used for Mars in Out of the Silent Planet, the first novel of Lewis's science-fiction trilogy. The book was published in 1938 and follows philologist Elwin Ransom after he is abducted and taken to the planet. Lewis uses the fictional name while also presenting Malacandra as the astronomical Mars known from Earth.

The trilogy's second book, Perelandra, is set on Venus, which Lewis names Perelandra. Earth is called Thulcandra, the silent planet of the first title. These names are easy to mix up because Lewis constructs a connected cosmology across the three novels.

Out of the Silent Planet was partly shaped by Lewis's dissatisfaction with what he viewed as simplistic or dehumanizing science fiction. The novel combines planetary adventure with philology, theology, and moral questions. Its protagonist, Ransom, is a scholar rather than a conventional action hero, reflecting Lewis's academic interests.