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| Mars map showing Olympus Mons and the intriguing Caldera selected for tests |
"It's expected that the PGT ET version telescope will outstrip our wildest imaginations in terms of visual performance and discovery, based on the known performances of previous telescopes and machines. It's currently open as to which research fields will be approached and which subjects will be chosen for the initial tests. Let's examine one possible and intriguing test site that will be scientifically viable and possibly contribute to new discoveries."
— "Olympus Mons could erupt at any second!" —
INTRODUCTION
We're thinking about pointing the massive adjunctive telescope towards the Solar System's largest volcano, Olympus Mons on Mars, for first light tests. The questions that will possibly will be answered by the PGT ET are, "Is it possible to image inside the Martian Olympus Mons? If it's open at the top, can we journey down deep slopes into the floor of the volcano? How far down will this journey take us? What hidden inexplicable unknowns lie inside?
— "Knowledge about the Olympus Mons volcano is vital and critical to future martian colonists" —
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| Olympus Mons NASA elevation data |
Olympus Mons on the planet Mars is an extinct volcano over 16 miles high and three times higher than Mt. Everest on the Earth. It's the largest and highest known volcano in the Solar System. It holds special "geological" benefits and keys to future inhabitants of the Martian surface. At 550 km in diameter and 25 km high, it has mysterious overlapping calderas at the summit and one or two flanking parasitic cones. The caldera depth alone is about 3 km. Olympus Mons is located at the northwestern edge of the Tharsis region, about 1200 km from the other three large Martian shield volcanoes, collectively called the Tharsis Montes (Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Mons).
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| Mars Map: Telescope to target the Caldera |
For choosing the site, framing, deciding on orientations, obtaining references for image scale and deciding telescope formatting, we can go to Google Mars, and download the update, thus exploring Mars in 3-D just like in Google Earth. This explains how to use it. The objective is to enable the telescope to penetrate, as deep as possible into and through the Olympus Mons Caldera. With the power of the new PGT ET telescope, we may see detail not only on the massive slopes leading to the deep floor depths, but actual detail along the volcano floor. The high vantage point of the PGT ET is favorable for looking down from above to create ideal conditions.
BLOWING UP
If Olympus Mons blows, it could be very good for planet Mars, contributing greenhouse gases that could raise the temperature of Mars, provide more of a substantial climate, enabling more protection against harmful ultraviolet and other rays, and providing a more hospitable environment for future Martian colonists. Viewing, creating, studying ultra high resolution images of the volcano could provide valuable details about and for predicting the behavior of this huge impending feature that could terraform the planet in the future.
CONCLUSION
The Mars giant Olympus Mons volcano is selected for the first test site, to test the new PGT ET telescope. A key feature is the Caldera, an opening into the volcano, possibly extending to an elevated floor of some kind. What type of lava flow creatures live at the bottom, or what variety of floor materials will emerge from the telescope imagery? Will before and after images contribute to understanding the dates and times of future eruption? What unusual features will emerge? How deep can we look inside the OM? Can this exploration contribute to the search for life? Is this region indicative of an ancient ocean where we may find fossils emerging from the caved-in surrounds? Can we see the inside wall slopes and what will they reveal? Can specific Martian axial tilts contribute to angular viewing and can processing enhance their viewing vantage points. Which Adjuncts and Adjunctive Positioning will best facilitate the above, if any? Can the OM contribute to Mars thermodynamic heating a Martian colony base or provide other materials for survival? Are there burrow holes in the side of the slopes. How deep and how steep are the interior walls? Is there slide wash on the interior slopes and to what extent? Is sand visible? Can resolution meet or exceed that which is necessary to see footprints or small creatures? How will this test contribute to expanding PGT-ET programs?