Anomaly
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Anomalies are irregularities which appear in most scanned sectors and can be investigated by 
RC Explorers. There are 6 types of anomalies:
Event Anomalies trigger special events or advance active Mysteries.
Research Anomalies instantly generates 1000-1500 Research Points.
Breakthrough Anomalies reveal a Breakthrough technology.
Tech Anomalies reveal up to 6 technologies that are next in line in the Tech Trees except for Breakthroughs, or give from 1000-1500 Research Points if all technologies are already revealed.
Alien Artifact Anomalies are spawned in every explored and unexplored sector when the 
Alien Imprints Breakthrough is researched. Such anomalies provide a boost of 3% each to all research when investigated.- Rare Anomalies trigger special events and can only be found underground.
Anomaly Events[edit | edit source]
One of the following events will always trigger after an Event Anomaly is investigated:
| No | Description | Decisions and effects |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You’d think the Explorer had found buried treasure, the way our scientists were reacting. It was a sulfur-rich regolith! The Explorer vehicle gathered various soil samples from far and wide around the Anomaly site and fed us the data. For hours, the telemetry was filled with buzzing chatter as the scientists at Mission Control discussed the implications of the element and made inventive plans about the future. The time of the expedition was limited and we urged them to make a final decision. |
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| 2 | The readings told us it was a vein rich with ore, but the data turned out to be incorrect. Under those fine red sands lay the intact hull of a rover. We immediately recognized it – Curiosity. A historic finding that stretched its hand in a welcoming gesture through the years back to the first missions on the Red Planet. It belonged in a museum, but on the other hand was an opportunity to gain more parts that we could rarely get our hands on. It was a tough decision. |
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| 3 | Our initial spectrographic analysis confirmed it. Chromium. To find such a rich deposit of such a rare metal. Important was an understatement. The geological team couldn't wait to get their hands on the samples, but this was going to prevent the engineering team from smelting the materials for their ceaseless operations. The experts at Mission Control argued for hours, but the course of action was clear. |
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| 4 | It’s not every day that we have the luxury to choose from what Mars has to offer. The planet constantly reminds us of its old habit – to give with one hand and take with the other. The rover came across coffinite rocks rich in uranium, clustered on top of a rich hematite deposit. The mineral veins were positioned in such a manner inside the rock that we couldn't blast through without compromising some of them. We faced a difficult decision, but at the end, it was a matter of simple pragmatics. |
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| 5 | We’ve found signs of native life! The sensor reading from the Anomaly site provided the answer to one of the biggest mysteries about Mars. The Explorer examined a mineral cluster and found the preserved remains of microscopic life forms. We've managed to confirm that the deposit originated on Mars and not on one of the many asteroids that pockmark the surface of the planet. The team is ecstatic with the find. If there was past life on Mars, perhaps we are not alone in the universe! |
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| 6 | We’ve analyzed material from the Anomaly and it completely validates our hypothesis on abiogenic petroleum! The pocket of natural gas we discovered deep among the hydrocarbon rocks was nothing short of an evidence of petroleum formation. The geophysicists here, at Mission Control, stare at the research data in disbelief. Mars, even in its alien nature, has proven once more a teacher in the mysteries so well veiled on our home world. This unique opportunity allows us to gaze into the past of Mars and gather knowledge which would take months to simulate inside a laboratory. |
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| 7 | We’ve collected valuable geographic data at the site of the Anomaly. Analysis of the crust yielded rare insights on the geological history of Mars, especially about the ancient Theiikian period, in which volcanic activity released immense amounts of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. Several key hypotheses of the exo-geologists were confirmed by our findings. The scientific community praised the findings, raising the status of our mission in the eyes of humanity. Our sponsor committed additional funds to the mission. |
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| 8 | Someone joked we found kryptonite. It was because of the greenish-yellow hue of the beryl crystals. The contrast with the red Martian dust made them appear almost alien. Even if they wouldn't make any of the Colonists superhuman, they would surely give us almost supernatural powers! Our plans at Mission Control included the introduction of a long-term nuclear energy solution for the growing Colony, and the Beryllium that we would produce from these minerals would be an immense help in this difficult mission. We would encase the nuclear fuel rods of our nuclear reactors in Beryllium and make a good use of its incredible mechanical, chemical and nuclear properties. |
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| 9 | The rover manipulators held the silver-white mineral up to the camera just as the chemical analysis came through. We’ve found Tellurium. In a moment, the Chief Engineer at Mission Control was at the communications station, urging instructions to the RC Explorer on how to handle and analyze the discovery. It was amusing to watch the almost childlike excitement in the eyes of the expert. This is a significant discovery because it allows us to overcome an old problem in metallurgy. Easily-machinable metals allow for economical manufacturing of components, but the factors that allow it usually lower their performance, and vice versa. Thus, engineers had always been challenged to find ways to balance the two factors. The addition of Tellurium to iron alloys allows them to perform better in both areas. |
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| 10 | The analysis tells us that we’ve found Iridium-rich sulfides! That’s a real rarity on Earth! Mankind's ingenuity had found a myriad of applications for it. But we focused our plan on a much simpler, more vital role in our growing Colony – RTGs. Free energy for everyone! |
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| 11 | We've just found Beagle 2. Or at least what’s left of it. Over the years over two-thirds of the missions sent to Mars ended in disaster. The tragic course of events, attributed to bad luck, human error, or simply to the inevitability of shooting blind in the dark, had created a dark humor revolving around the Great Galactic Ghoul which feeds on exploration probes and the mystery of the Martian Triangle. One of the best-equipped probe missions to Mars was Beagle 2, which failed dramatically in the last minutes before landing. Failed by the parachutes and the treacherous Martian atmosphere, the brave little probe crashed at fatally high speed against the red desert. |
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| 12 | We found some useful material in the debris from a small meteorite. After minimal processing, the resources can be transported and put to good use for the benefit of the Colony. |
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| 13 | We’ve discovered a magnificent vista at the site of the anomaly. Even after watching the cold splendor of the Red Planet for so long, Mission Control was awestruck by the beautiful footage provided by our intrepid reconnaissance vehicle. |
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| 14 | The odd composition of the debris collected from the anomaly site has proven to be an uncrackable riddle for our science team. The experts all agree that the materials discovered at the Anomaly site could not originate on Mars, but they are also in agreement that they are not the remains of a meteorite or a contaminant introduced from our Rockets. For now it looks like the origin of the debris will remain a mystery. As wise men throughout history said more than once: the more we know, the more we realize that we don't know. |
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| 15 | We discovered unusual crystals in the remains of a meteorite. The magnified images of their crystalline matrix were broadcast by every major news channel on Earth. One tabloid even claims that the crystal is in fact artificially created - some kind of artwork of a microscopic alien race. The work resembles million tiny cylinders surrounded by flames. If you squint your eyes, the very static of the composition resembles a star map. The image is bordered by double rainbows while the work has an abstract feeling and a very dynamic structure. While all this unscientific sensationalism had outraged our experts, the publicity provided us with some unexpected benefits. |
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| 16 | The Explorer made a thorough scan of the Anomaly site but couldn't find anything unusual. Regrettably, it appears that the unusual readings were just a sensor glitch. |
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| 17 | Though initially fruitless, we recalibrated the operating spectrum for our scans and voila! Such photo-ops have proven to be useful for the mission, inspiring people on Earth to believe that humanity should create its new home on the Red Planet. |
A Celebrity Applicant is available on Earth |
| 18 | The probe’s drill had hit one hundred meters before it detected a spike in temperature. The data tells us it was ignited Magnesium compounds. We are still waiting for confirmation but the preliminary results are clear. There are signs of chemical burning, indicating a combustible material in contact with the probe. The mechanical friction of the drilling head must have ignited the magnesium. What a great discovery! Scientists on Earth had long planned the creation of jet engines that could burn the carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere with the use of magnesium powder. With abundant amounts on site, the research teams could begin preliminary testing of a working prototype right away! |
Reduces the cost of Robotics techs by 10% |
| 19 | The on-site data validates our predictive models of the electrically-charged dust devils. Science is well aware of the causes of the massive Earth storms, monsoons and tornadoes and yet we never ceased to admire the primeval forces unleashed before our eyes. The same goes for Martian electrostatic dust storms. Our scientists already had a good working model on the behavior of these peculiar weather Anomalies on the Red Planet. Now we can refine this model even further. With the current expedition complete, we can confirm their theory, yet I doubt anyone would ever cease to revere the massive dust storms. |
Gain 2000 Research |
| 20 | The Anomaly turned out to be one of the most well-preserved asteroid impacts in our area. No geologist could ever put a price on it. Earth scientists had long wondered about the effect of ancient asteroid impacts on Martian climate and geology. Several missions had been sent to gather data about these primordial events but the landers failed, as if the Red Planet wanted to keep some of its secrets for itself. Generations had to pass until we managed to send a successful expedition to lift the shroud of mystery. With the data we gathered from the site, our colleagues on Earth will have material for years of research. Maybe we would finally find out whether the Martian core was shut down or it died out on its own, and we would be able to predict the destiny of our home world. |
Gain 3000 Research Gain $800M Funding |
| 21 | Until today, the only place we’d thought you could find Ice XV outside of a lab was on an icy planet or a moon. And here we find it. On Mars. Ice XV is a super-dense phase of water ice which is formed in extremely cold and extremely high-pressure environments. It turns out that the unique geological history of Mars allowed a small quantity of Ice XV to form under the crust. Even though we didn't confirm any substantial deposits of water, this discovery would cause uproar in the scientific communities and draw significant attention to our efforts on the Red Planet. Our sponsors immediately provided us with tools to discover more about the effects of Martian geology on the formation of underground ice. |
Gain $500M Funding |
| 22 | There were no secrets to find near the Anomaly site, just a scene of breathtaking beauty. The unusual chemical composition of the regolith near the Anomaly site effectively shielded it from our data gathering. As we re-purposed and improved our scanning technology based on these new findings, we were rewarded with an unexpected surprise. |
Discovered a Water deposit |
| 23 | Get up close and personal with Mars and you’ll find it’s anything but barren. We found another treasure in the form of a small deposit of a Germanium-rich mineral. The purity of the Germanium found in the vein is amazing, which our scientific team presumes is due to the millennia-long loss of volatiles in the Martian atmosphere. Germanium started out as the humble ekasilicon proposed by Mendeleev and for almost a century it was discerned as a useless metal, only for late 20th century discoveries to make it one of the cornerstones of modern electronics. |
Discovered a Rare Metals deposit |
| 24 | We’ve just confirmed the location of a metal-rich deposit. A drilling accident turned to our advantage. We lost a drilling probe while trying to analyze this Anomaly. The signal was suddenly lost and we got the tingling feeling that we would get lucky with the second one. The operators were extra careful and the second insertion revealed a vast network of underground cavities beneath the hard rock plate. On top of that, we managed to get in contact with the first probe which had fallen through in another section of the crust faults. We used the two probes as triangulation points for telemetry and pinpointed the location of the deposit. |
Discovered a Metal deposit |
| 25 | We’ve just found the wreckage of Phobos-2! The old probe even had some new data for us to analyze. On July 7th, 1988 the Soviet Union launched two Proton-K rockets carrying the Phobos-1 and Phobos-2 probes on a course to Mars. Of the two craft only Phobos-2 reached its final destination, but contact with it was lost just before it could deliver its precious payload. Humankind will be forever grateful for the information we salvaged from its computers. |
Locations of several Anomalies discovered |
| 26 | The Rover went dark for five hours. When it rebooted, it confirmed it had come into contact with an unusually high-voltage electrical charge. The red alert was sounded immediately after we lost contact with the RC Explorer vehicle. Five long hours of fear and desperation ended with the reinstating of data feed. A wave of relief passed through the crowd of scientists gathered at the control center. The telescopic drill used to probe the crust at the Anomaly site disturbed a layer of magnetite-rich rocks, the source of the electric charge. The rover is still functional but it would take time before its locomotion systems are fully restored. The operators turned the defeat into a victory, devoting the unexpected time window to studying the magnetic properties of the Martian crust. |
The RC Explorer has malfunctioned. It has to be repaired by Drones. 50% cost reduction for the following technologies: Low-G Drive, Autonomous Sensors. Gain $200M Funding |
| 27 | Our Explorer just got into a pretty serious accident. The good news is it’s still in one piece. The vehicle stumbled upon a crust fault which could have lasted for a couple hundreds of years under the slow erosion of the planet. Disturbed by the mechanical motion of the scanning probes, the surface opened like a wound and swallowed the rover, luckily, only for a dozen of meters. The sturdy machine got out of the hole, but nevertheless it sustained heavy damage. Millions of years ago Mars had been shaken to its core by cataclysmic impact which sealed the fate of the planet. Since then Mars, like all giants, is dying, too slow for our mortal eyes to witness. Yet even today the death-throes of the Red Planet can be felt unmistakably. |
The RC Explorer has malfunctioned. It has to be repaired by Drones. |
| 28 | We’ve got bad news. The RC Explorer investigating the anomaly accidentally released a pocket of high-pressure gas. The carbon dioxide erupted, damaging the rover and lifting tons of fine dust into the atmosphere, forming a Dust Devil. The Red Planet reminded us how dangerous an alien world could be. |
Expect fierce Dust Devils to form at the Anomaly location. |
Planetary Anomaly Events[edit | edit source]
The first Planetary Anomalies will appear on Sol 10 or 11. Subsequent anomalies will appear after every 62-63 Sols. Planetary Anomalies usually come in sets of 3 to 6.
Events with Unknown outcome[edit | edit source]
Each of the following events can trigger when a Planetary Anomaly with random rewards is investigated:
| No | Description | Decisions and effects | DLC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The expedition team found... a car. It’s an amazing – and amusing – discovery! The car is very well preserved, it seems it survived the crash of the cargo pod quite well. It was supposed to be in Earth’s orbit, and we don’t know how it got here, but it’s a valuable historical discovery nonetheless. |
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None |
| 2 | No spectrographic traces of water could prepare us for the breath-taking sight. Amidst the red dunes a tiny pond of liquid water was shimmering under the bleak sun. We rubbed our eyes, but no, we weren’t seeing mirages. By some weird quirk of physics the tiny pond was there – right before our eyes! After the initial excitement has passed, we need to make an important decision. |
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None |
| 3 | During flight to the Anomaly site, the engine stalled and the Rocket began losing altitude. Only through sheer luck the Rocket managed to make an emergency landing on a safe spot, but even now there are no signs that the engine could start working again. |
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None |
| 4 | Red Mars
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None |
| 5 | We've discovered the crashed remains of another expedition. It seems that an unknown Colony had sent an ill-prepared expedition team to this location. Their equipment failed and they never managed to return to their home. We've identified the remains of several Colonists who lost their lives in the line of duty. |
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Space Race |
| 6 | Data Dealer We've discovered a derelict Rover and recovered its intact black box. The Rover is a testimony of a long-lost expedition at these coordinates. We still haven't recovered any information from the black box. What do you suggest? |
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Unknown |
| 7 | The Derelict We have discovered the remains of a crashed rocket at the expedition location. The rocket has smashed with its nose in the ground, leaving a miles-long trail behind before the red sand and rocks quenched the immense force of its inertia. The hull is damaged and twisted beyond recognition, rending all attempts to identify the vehicle useless. No information can be found about the crash on any international flight records, either. We can order the hull to be investigated, but the only way to proceed is to cut through it with blow-torches, which could be dangerous in case there are any dangerous substances or remaining fuel on board. |
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| 8 | Hot potato The expedition encountered personnel from a rival Colony. The rivals are hostile and uncooperative, claiming they have exclusive rights on exploiting the Anomaly site. "We were here first! They threaten to sabotage and destroy the useful resources on site rather than allowing us to claim even a tiny portion of them |
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None |
Rare Anomaly Events[edit | edit source]
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Available only with the Below and Beyond DLC enabled. |
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it with: Missing events. |
Rare Anomalies can be found underground, analyzing them will trigger either one of the following events, or being/progress a Buried Wonder mystery. All Rare Anomaly event choices do not display their effects until after they are chosen.
| No | Description | Decisions and effects |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Basalt Columns We've found a cave lined with hexagonal pillars. Some immediately called it proof for aliens, but these are the result of a natural process called columnar jointing. Some of our scientists immediately started sharing pictures with their friends and families. It seems a lot of colonists and people on earth are interested in seeing these columns first hand. Where should we start with setting up a base in the area? |
Anomaly location becomes a Vista regardless of choice.
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| 2 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Rumbles The probe's drill picked up rumbles coming from deeper within Mars. Somthing that may indicate Mars is still more volcanically active than we thought. This must be related to the underground Marsquakes we occasionally experience. Mars was long thought to be volcanically extinct. But earliuer studies already indicated there might be a fault line near the Cerberus Fossae. The readings from our probe indicate much more magma flows than our most optimistic predictions. How should we prepare our colony for this? |
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| 3 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Nanites While analyzing this anomaly, our RC Explorer started to exhibit some weird behavior. As if something infecte it's circuitry and started making it take seemingly random actions. Our scientists immediately started reviewing the diagnostiscs. They found that specific components of the RC Explorer were directly receivingin commands from something small enough to infiltrate its circuitry. An electrical discharge and reboot later, we managed to restore the RC Explorers use and capture a sample of the material that cuased this behavior. It turns out to be nano robots, that must have been buried here for ages. Researching these nanites will enable us to apply them to a certain area an mass produce them. Where do you think they'd be most useful? |
If you have already researched the unlocked breakthrough, the reward will be 10000 Research. |
| 4 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Architecture We must apologize, commander. It seems one of our interns took control of the RC Explorer and used it to stare at the cavern ceilings for hours on end. We immediately sent him home and kept an eye on him for a while. We found him that evening talking with an architect friend of his. She seemed fascinated by how he described the underground caverns of Mars. Talking about cyclopean architecture grounded in non-euclidean geometry. The next day we realized she's a new hire within our dome architecture team. She was coming up with some pretty strange suggestions. Which team should we assign her on? |
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| 5 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Ode to Mars
It made us reflect on the long journey humanity took to get here. Staring at a red dot in the sky for millennia, gradually taking more detailed pictures from closer and closer, until we actually set foot on Mars. We are confident you will lead this mission to a success, commander. What do you need from earth to make it so? |
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| 6 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Mona Lisa
the side of the crevice had almost the exact shape as the Mona Lisa. Usually it requires low resolution images or squinting your eyes to recognize a face in a rock formation. But this clearly looks close to the Mona Lisa. Our sponsors requested us to dig out the rock shape and send it back to earth. They wish to put it on display next to the real one. In return, they are willing to send us a few early prototypes of building. Which should we get? |
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| 7 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Life
We've found several fossilized microorganisms, some still remaining within an amber like substance. This is a massive find! Further research shows that Mars' oceans were full of microbes about 4 million years ago. Some of these secreted an amber like substance, which has captured and preserved other microbes. Some theorize there must have been plant or tree like organisms, though at this point it's to early to say. We've found potentially revolutionary genetic markers in these microbes. We may be able to cure one of humanity's ails, which should we focus on? |
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| 8 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Wonder
Our probes found what appears to be an alien tomb. Large basalt slabs protect a small chamber from the crushing weight of the martian surface. Within it lies a metallic box, almost shaped like a coffin. Our probes carefully remove the lid, to find it's empty. On the outside, the coffin is filled with weird symbols and drawings. We immediately made pictures and scans of the area, spent time analyzing the drawings which appear to be schematics for some kind of structure. But when we sent the probes back in there was nothing to find. Was this place even real... Looking at the schematics, they are very similar to ... |
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| 9 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Virus
After analyzing some samples from strange markers on the cave floor, we've found some traces of an unknown virus. A second scan confirmed our suspicions. We've found a new virus native to Mars. Some kind of material was able to preserve the virus for thousands, if not millions of years. Viruses are only found where there is life, so this should confirm there once was life on Mars. If it's not still here. The medical community warns us that if there is ever an outbreak, it may kill all our colonists. So, perhaps we should try to rely less on people. What do you think, commander? |
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| 10 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Fossils
We found a few large fossils of plant like organisms. This may be the first actual proof we've found for life on Mars. The size and shape of the fossils indicates these were very nutritious plants that grew to about a meter high. These would indicate Mars didn't just have life within it's oceans, but also on land. Some even theorize they may be evidence of selective breeding, indicating intelligent life once used to walk on Mars. Though this would need further investigation. For now, we should put these fossils to good use. What do you think, commander? |
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| 11 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Marslantis
Our exploration team found what appears to be corroded bricks. After a more extensive analysis, it appears remains of ancient structures are buried here. Thought the corrosion shown on these bricks can only happen as a result of water. Several scientists have started to talk about Marslantis. The leading theory is that an advanced civilization lived on Mars millions of years ago. Some kind of disaster caused their city to sink into Mar's oceans. And its remains got buried here, gradually getting covered up over millions of years. Many other scientists believe Marlantis is a myth and claim the find is just peculiarly shaped rock. They recommend we bolster our research efforts, and put these rumors to rest. How should we proceed? |
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| 12 | Rare anomaly Analyzed: Buried Lakes
We have discovered evidence of buried lakes underneath the surface of Mars. Understanding more about Mars will give us an easier time to build and expand here. Even before arriving on Mars, studies proposed the existence of lakes of liquid water buried underground. Most of these were thought to be around the poles. Now we've actually found one, we can do a thorough study to investigate their origins, salinity and much more. This will greatly help our research on Mars. Which tech field should we prioritize? |
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| 13 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Rocket
We've found an old rocket that seems to be from earth. The material, level of technology and written text all indicate it's from the cold war ear. While most space agencies were focused on the moon, it seems one already made a manned mission to mars. There is more, though. Our initial investigation indicates this rocket should have made it to mars. There's clearly something we overlooked that made their mission a success. Commander, I'm sure we'll find something if we rely on your luck and insights. Where should we look again? |
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| 14 | Rare Anomaly Analyzed: Purpose
The RC Explorer did an extensive survey and analysis of the area, and found nothing. Some colonists are starting to question the meaning of our colony. Where it seemed a grand step for humanity at first, they now start to wonder whether they should've stayed on earth. In moments like this our colonists look at you, commander. To set an example and for guidance. What do you say? |
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