'Mars-specific' originates from Modern English, formed by combining 'Mars' (from Latin 'Mars', the Roman god and the name of the planet) and 'specific' (originating from Latin 'specificus'), where 'specificus' derived from 'species' meaning 'appearance, kind'.

'specific' changed from Medieval Latin 'specificus' and Old French 'specifique' and eventually became the modern English adjective 'specific'; 'Mars' has been used in English from Latin 'Mars' referring to the deity and later the planet, and the compound 'Mars-specific' is a modern English formation combining the two.

Initially, 'specific' meant 'of a particular kind or species', and over time, when combined with 'Mars' the compound came to mean 'pertaining uniquely or especially to Mars'.