Commander Lee Forbes was leader of the Ares One mission to Mars. Upon arriving in the Argosy with Susan Roberts, Tanya Webster and Paul Webster, he set out to look for the anomaly they had been sent to investigate. Upon finding that it was an artificial structure, he secretly shut off communications with Mission Control in accordance with the Brookings Report. He and Susan then entered the structure, where they discovered the Fifth Doctor and Peri, and further exploration revealed that it contained the tomb which held Izdaal's body and his Ice Warrior guardians frozen in ice.
After the guardians became unfrozen, Forbes and the Doctor were held captive. He became distraught when Susan was shot and killed by Sstast for trying to free them. He prayed for her survival and blamed himself for her suffering. Forbes was eventually released and returned to the Ares One. (AUDIO: Red Dawn)