What does the surface of Mars look like in 40K?

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**Waaagh_Gonads**

The novel 'Mechanicum' gave excellent descriptions during the heresy, but the only blurb I recall was a story about the necrons raiding Mars quickly (to try and awaken the dragon' but it only really described the valley system.

Is is largely bare or completely covered in metal or somewhere in between?

Deductive reasoning or quoted fluff only please.

**YmeLocSquirrel256**

Try this:

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Mars

Works a treat for fluff stuff every time.

**Riffzor**

Though, every time I take fluff references from the lexicanum I get slaped over my face.

I haven't read any novels, all I can recall about Mars is that in the Necron Codex, it says that a Necron ship even 'landed upon its sacred red soil' or something like that. So it does mention soil atleast!

**Manchu**

There is no reference that I know of. AFAIK, outside of the Heresy book, the only reference to actually being on Terra is in Ian Watson's InqWar books and I do not think he describes Mars (i.e, from space) at all. I would doubt that the Mechanicum would entirely cover Mars, however. In the HH book, a vast amount of space is left "natural" while Earth is already as it would be ten yhousand years later. It's unlikely that such a transformation would be within Terra's abilities and not those of Mars. So perhaps the Mechanicum places some kind of aesthetic/religious value on their planet's red landscapes--they do really like red after all. Also unlike Terra, Mars is not (necessarily) a hiveworld at all ( in the sense of population).

**Cadet_Commissar_Ludd**

In the background section of 4th ed i'm pretty sure there's a picture, will check

Automatically Appended Next Post:
found it on 4th double spread at the beginning of the book
pretty vague i'll admit but better than nothing

**Gorskar.da.Lost**

There's probably a few more craters and such due to the Horus Heresy, but other than that, not all that much different, aside from the fact that there are now human structures on it.

**vodo40k**

I heard initially Mars was terraformed and made to look something like earth. However during the fighting during the heresy the atmosphere burned and it was reduced to its original "rusty" appearance.

**Space_Potato**

I would assume that as it is a forge world there would be a crap-lot of manufactorums.

Aside from that, there would be red soil, smog, all the usual forge world stuff.

S_P

**Kilkrazy**

Pretty much like this but the Adeptus Mechanicus keep it quiet for obvious reasons.

**IronChaos**

Kilkrazy wrote:Pretty much like this but the Adeptus Mechanicus keep it quiet for obvious reasons.

[put here your biggest XD]

**Space_Potato**

Kilkrazy wrote:Pretty much like this but the Adeptus Mechanicus keep it quiet for obvious reasons.

Dude, that's the northern hemisphere. The tourist hemisphere. You should check out the southern hemisphere.

Seriously, it's ridiculous down there, it's like Basildon.

S_P

**Valkyrie**

Well, judging from Mechanicum, Mars seems to be comprised of many Manufactorums, each about the size of a continent. The entire population of Mars lives and works within these Manufactorums.

Between the Manufactorums, it's mostly barren wasteland, especially the area around the Noctis Labyrinthus.
Suspended high in orbit around Mars is a giant ring, used as a spaceport for orbiting ships (imagine a giant Halo Ring around the planet).

So, imagine sprawling factories surrounded by masses of barren deserts.

Valk

**Melissia**

Like a giant factory with occasional landing pads.