Base Olympus Base ancient alien outpost enhancement

Bloodworth

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I only ask because I am not a programmer, nor an artist.

Could somebody (in your spare time) please make an Olympus Base enhancement that turns Olympus Base into an abandoned and dilapidated ancient alien outpost?

Why else would it be there for missions in the early/mid 21st century unless it was already there :) Something discovered by satellite imagery that would give us a REASON to go there and check it out.
 

BruceJohnJennerLawso

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I only ask because I am not a programmer, nor an artist.

Could somebody (in your spare time) please make an Olympus Base enhancement that turns Olympus Base into an abandoned and dilapidated ancient alien outpost?

Why else would it be there for missions in the early/mid 21st century unless it was already there :) Something discovered by satellite imagery that would give us a REASON to go there and check it out.

I guess this could be done, but from what I understand, any Martian colony of real size is going to have to be fairly deep underground for radiation shielding purposes. If there were ruins at olympus base, they would probably be the "tip of the iceberg", just some hangars & communication equipment.
 

Bloodworth

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Most likely, but it would still give a reason for it's existence in the early/mid 21st century. It would also give something better to look at than the untextured stock base.
 

BruceJohnJennerLawso

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Most likely, but it would still give a reason for it's existence in the early/mid 21st century. It would also give something better to look at than the untextured stock base.

Well, I see no issue with trying this sort of thing, but Ive always thought it would be really cool to have an olympus built from vehicles in the NASA design reference mission. The only problem would be deciding what the landing pads would look like.

Good luck with your idea!
 

PhantomCruiser

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I was kind of visualizing the way several Mayan ruins look today, only with that dusty red/pink/coral look that Mars has... Or, an adobe village akin to Ben Bova's Mars and Return to Mars.
 

BruceJohnJennerLawso

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I was kind of visualizing the way several Mayan ruins look today, only with that dusty red/pink/coral look that Mars has... Or, an adobe village akin to Ben Bova's Mars and Return to Mars.

It is a fun idea to think about. I just wonder how something of that size could be missed by the mars orbiters mapping the planet. Unless its a conspiracy...

:uhh:
:shifty:
 

Bloodworth

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It is a fun idea to think about. I just wonder how something of that size could be missed by the mars orbiters mapping the planet. Unless its a conspiracy...

:uhh:
:shifty:


Easy, the ruins could have been long buried by dust storms and only recently uncovered.
 

statickid

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cool idea for a sci-fi story, but here's a thought...

What is the max size of particles that can be moved by the highest recorded Martian winds? I know dust storms are frequent but i feel like the particles that get blown aloft must be really tiny.

Another interesting consideration is that dunes can be very stable even though they look dynamic. I went to the Kelso dunes in the Mojave desert and also did some research on them. While some smaller dunes may move around, larger dunes can be "permanent" geographic features, even though they are just big piles of sand. Specifically, Kelso dunes has 3 500 foot dunes which have been there for a long time, and they have defined, mappable peaks.

So my question is this:

Even with frequent wind storms, how much does the surface of mars really change on a human time scale? Does the wind action of mars move things quickly like on Earth, or with the thin atmosphere does it take eons to form a dune.
 

BruceJohnJennerLawso

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cool idea for a sci-fi story, but here's a thought...

What is the max size of particles that can be moved by the highest recorded Martian winds? I know dust storms are frequent but i feel like the particles that get blown aloft must be really tiny.

Another interesting consideration is that dunes can be very stable even though they look dynamic. I went to the Kelso dunes in the Mojave desert and also did some research on them. While some smaller dunes may move around, larger dunes can be "permanent" geographic features, even though they are just big piles of sand. Specifically, Kelso dunes has 3 500 foot dunes which have been there for a long time, and they have defined, mappable peaks.

So my question is this:

Even with frequent wind storms, how much does the surface of mars really change on a human time scale? Does the wind action of mars move things quickly like on Earth, or with the thin atmosphere does it take eons to form a dune.

That is an interesting thought. I would think small particles wouldn't move far though, given that lower pressures wouldn't carry them as far as a thicker atmosphere would. That's part of why the Apollo footage can be shown as authentic, since the dust kicked up immediately falls back, instead of forming a small cloud like here on Earth.
 

4throck

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Thermal IR can show structures covered by sand :hmm:
And that has been used on Mars for geological studies. So you don't need erosion to reveal anything.

(Regarding the Apollo footage, when viewed in HD and at proper speed, it's pretty obvious that it was recorded on an airless world with low gravity. Not only the dust but also the light, rocks, all of it. This stabilized and speed corrected clip - on the first sequence - illustrates it:
)
 
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