UPDATE!! - Ultimate Terraformed Mars Texture

Vincent · Post #161by **Vincent** » 09.09.2007, 10:30

Don. Edwards wrote:As for the other question, they would pray toward Meca as they do now, although it would be moving around allot.

Tuefish wrote:I'm wondering how the Islamic world would adapt to colonization; would they pray towards Earth? what about the pilgrimage to mecca? just some random thoughts...

I think that Christians would have the same problem when trying to find the Earth's sky.
And the pilgrimage to Lourdes would be quite expensive too...

Hungry4info · Post #162by **Hungry4info** » 09.09.2007, 14:29

Vincent wrote:I think that Christians would have the same problem when trying to find the Earth's sky.

As a Christian, I can give a fair bit of input about that. I honestly would have no problem living on a terraformed Mars. My religious views are independent of the ability to view Earth's sky (I rarely go outside anyway haha). I honestly am not understanding you statement.

In the spirit of changing subject though, do you have any idea when this add-on will be released? It's quite beautiful.

Don. Edwards · Post #163by **Don. Edwards** » 10.09.2007, 02:15

Its a fairly big project, just like the real terraforming of Mars would be. I am not devoting as much time as I would like on it from day to day. But you must keep in mind I work on computers all day, repairing them, so when I get home I often look at my own computer with a little disgust. So I tend to put off working on things until the weekend for the most part. Also I have been having a hell of a time getting Photoshop to run smoothly under Vista. So I am looking at sticking my older hard drive back in and using my old XP install until I can do a few upgrades in the next few weeks.

So at this point there is no release date. I will give the answer that it will be released when its done and thats it. I am of course shooting to have it out before Christmas.

Don. Edwards

Dollan · Post #164by **Dollan** » 12.09.2007, 14:15

All I can say, Don, is that your talent continues to amaze me. I can't wait for the releasal. You, Runar, and several others here truly have a gift for this stuff.

As far as the shorelines go, once you knock some irregularities into them, I could easily see the remaining cities backing up into the mainland in vaguly wesdgelike formations. At least, as one option.

...John...

m1omg · Post #165by **m1omg** » 27.09.2007, 17:19

Amazing!

Neethis · Post #166by **Neethis** » 30.09.2007, 18:50

Don. Edwards wrote:Nope, Mars is a one world goverment with a single planetary capital. Although this capital city is real quite large.

We'll see what the Elysium Island Seperatist Movement has to say about that

Very nice work btw

bdm · Post #167by **bdm** » 10.10.2007, 02:39

A number of the craters are shown as being lakes. What determines which craters are lakes? Does the water level vary among the crater lakes, or is the level of the water all the same? Are there any crater lakes at high elevation? Are there any dry craters with their bottoms below sea level?

It looks to me as if a particular datum level was selected as sea level, and all levels below that become water. If so, this isn't realistic. There are many places on Earth where land is below sea level, and conversely most lakes are higher than sea level. It's reasonable to suppose that the hydrological features of Mars would work the same as on Earth: water would find its level but only for bodies of water that are connected to each other.

Don. Edwards · Post #168by **Don. Edwards** » 10.10.2007, 03:54

bdm,

Most craters that have water and are close to the coastal areas area at the datum. But there many that are lower than the datum that are dry and there are a few that are above the datum that are full. Remember this is a controlled environment not a natural one. Many areas of the planet have been set aside as historic parks that are untouched by vegetation. Allot of the southern highlands remain dry and arid as does most of Tharsis and in as historic condition as can be made possible on a terraformed planet. Many craters would naturally fill with water if they were not drained intensionally. Many craters are being used as sheltered valleys for cites and farming. The weather on a terraformed Mars will have extremes and it can be quiet windy in areas. So these craters become welcome zones of stable weather and there environments can be manipulated much easier than the planet as a whole. Many water filled craters are used for aqua-culture, versus tapping the main ocean of its resources.

Don. Edwards

Tuefish · Post #169by **Tuefish** » 12.10.2007, 01:51

Don,
What effect would mars' lack of magnetosphere have on the terraformation process of mars?

Don. Edwards · Post #170by **Don. Edwards** » 14.10.2007, 09:16

I can't go into all the aspects of of what part it would play. There is an entire forum dedicated to this subject. I gleaned some of my info from in there.

Of course the most important thing is that Mars would need a fairly thick ozone layer, and a think atmosphere of 2 to 2.5 bars would also help. Of course maintaining this think atmosphere over time is something that would have to be taken into account.

If you are interested in the Terraformed Mars forum here a link.
http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewforum ... 8b82afa92d

Don. Edwards

MKruer · Post #171by **MKruer** » 14.10.2007, 11:22

Don. After Mars, will you terraform Venus as well. It seems that quite possible providing one can remove a lot of the CO2 from the air. Temperature wise it should be about the same as Earth. The trick is just doing it.

It seems like the best idea would be to create a solar sail beyond the L1 point to cool the planet, then hit it with a bunch of ice comets to create oceans. This would eventually scrub the the air enough that you could get rid of the solar sail. the day and night cycle and temperature is not that big of an issue providing that the atmosphere is similar to Earth.

Don. Edwards · Post #172by **Don. Edwards** » 14.10.2007, 19:55

I already created a terraformed Venus texture, I am just not that happy with it. I did post a picture of it back a few years ago. I might revisit the possibility if I find good enough data for the project. Then maybe not.

Don. Edwards

Hungry4info · Post #173by **Hungry4info** » 14.10.2007, 22:15

MKruer wrote:...the day and night cycle and temperature is not that big of an issue providing that the atmosphere is similar to Earth.

Really? An Earth-like atmosphere could keep the night side warm for several months?

Also, the atmosphere of Venus will need to be... depressured some. I couldn't imagine humans existing on a surface with the atmospheric pressure as high as Venus'.

(Take atmospheric gases from Venus, take them to Mars. We thus lessen Venus' thick atmosphere and increase Mars'. Kill two birds with a single stone :idea:

)

MKruer · Post #174by **MKruer** » 15.10.2007, 01:36

We are getting off topic. But yes

The night side would swing below freezing but not anywhere near what the moon or mercury is at night. On the day side, the place would warm up but not over boiling of water.

You can try to ship the gases or some other method to bury them, but the best ways is just to convert them. Just by adding water, and lots of it, we can can scrub the bulk of the CO2 from the air.

Is far easier to add to an existing planet then it is to take away from one.

We could even speed up the planets rotation by moving Ceres and making it a moon of Venus.

There are so many things we could do its amazing. Some are better then others. and some seem just too implausible, but cooling Venus is only slightly more difficult then warming mars on a grander scale of things. if you have the technology to do mars, then you have the technology to do Venus as well.

http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5493

Don. Edwards · Post #175by **Don. Edwards** » 15.10.2007, 06:44

Yes a bit off topic, but I will allow it, lol.

I think moving Ceres that far far would be a bad idea. Mainly because of what it is made of. Of course its water could be used on Venus, but then end mass of the moon wouldn't get you what you wanted. Moving Ceres and parking it in a Martian orbit would be easier an would have very good results on stabilizing its orbit and giving any oceans tides. Another issue that I have is that the amount of time and energy needed to put Venus into a state that would be usable for habitation has to be weighed against how long it could be used. Sure Venus could be made cooler, but it just won't last very long. We may get a few hundred thousand years out of it, possibly a couple of million. We need to remember that as the Sun ages its output is increasing making the whole prospect of terraforming Venus ludicrous. The Suns habitable zone is slowly moving outward toward Mars, which means a terraformed Mars has a much longer and useful period of possible habitability. I would personally just leave Venus alone. It really isn't a good candidate for terraforming. If it had a a shorter day cycle it might be interesting, but plant life will have a hard time being in the dark for so long, as will any humans on the surface. Just look what happens to some people in the polar regions of Earth with just 3 months of darkness, now try that for almost 3/4 of a year.

Don. Edwards

MKruer · Post #176by **MKruer** » 15.10.2007, 08:24

Like all terraforming projects it would be a multi step process.

For me the stepping would be like this. First create a sun shade in the form of a solar sail at the L1 LaGrange point, well closer to the sun then the L1 point to allow for the radiation pressure to keep the sail from being pushed into Venus.

Second go out towards Pluto in the KBO region, collect a hundred or so KBO of about 10km of mostly water/ice (or however many are required to satisfy permanent water on the planet) being that far out they should be easier to push into the system. For safety reason I would plant a nuke inside the KBOs capable of shredding the KBO incase it goes off course or something. (We would want one of them accidently hitting earth or anything.) Also create a shield/steering system for the KBOs. (we don?€™t want loss of water, and we don?€™t want out gassing to throw it off course.)

Try to have all the impacts hit the same side of the plant. (at an angle with the rotation) you never know it might help speed up the rotation by a fraction of a percent. :lol:

Once the planet is able to sustain liquid water, seed it will algae to help scrub the air.

Now wait :lol:

What also could be done to help make the planet more tolerable for humans is to place a solar reflector at the L2 point. If build correctly both the solar sail and reflector at the L1 and L2 points would be like window blinds and be able to block/reflect or allow light through. Thus allowing for more or less light then the planet would normally receive, but at the same time making a 24 hour cycle of night and day.

See not as impossible an idea as one would originally think.

BobHegwood · Post #177by **BobHegwood** » 15.10.2007, 17:07

Hey Don, I KNOW I'm a pain in the butt, but do you have any REALISTIC
Mars plans? Or, maybe I have just missed the location of something you've
already done?

I know that Mars is pretty well rendered by current versions, but with
YOUR expertise, I'd just LOVE to see a REAL mars from you. Your Earth
textures are the ONLY thing I use on my new installation of course, and I'd
love to have you re-texture ALL of the planets...

That ain't asking too much is it? Hee, hee again. :wink:

MKruer · Post #178by **MKruer** » 15.10.2007, 18:25

Try Here: Take your pick.

http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/mars.php

BobHegwood · Post #179by **BobHegwood** » 15.10.2007, 18:29

MKruer wrote:Try Here: Take your pick.

http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/mars.php

Hey, THANKS a LOT...

Apparently Windows Vista did it to me again when I last visited the
MotherLode. Sheesh. Wonder what ELSE I missed.

Again, thank you for the link.

Take care, Bob

Johaen · Post #180by **Johaen** » 15.10.2007, 18:50

BobHegwood wrote:Hey Don, I KNOW I'm a pain in the butt, but do you have any REALISTIC
Mars plans? Or, maybe I have just missed the location of something you've
already done?

I know that Mars is pretty well rendered by current versions, but with
YOUR expertise, I'd just LOVE to see a REAL mars from you. Your Earth
textures are the ONLY thing I use on my new installation of course, and I'd
love to have you re-texture ALL of the planets...

That ain't asking too much is it? Hee, hee again.

Here's the original Forum Post:

http://celestiaproject.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8838

Base, Normal, and Cloud Maps all together. Beautiful textures indeed.