Lego Mars Mission

Lego Mars Mission

Subject	Mars Exploration
Availability	2007–2009
Characters	Astronaut Alien Alien Commander

Mars Mission is a Lego theme that was released in mid-2007. It is set on Mars and features astronauts, aliens, and high-tech machinery. It has been cited as "delivering results on par with some of the strongest classic play themes in Lego history." Since 2009, it has been discontinued.^[1]

Plot

In the year 2045, another multi-million dollar project was executed on the planet Mars. A highly upgraded version of the Spirit, a previous martian rover was sent to the Red Planet on a mission to do what its main purpose was - to find evidence of life on the planet. After three months the rover came back with negative results of any traces of life. It did, however, find something much more useful and valuable - mysterious, radio-active crystals packed to the limit with energy, something very much needed on Earth. The space scientists quickly transfer the information to a highly secured government base, and then to the president. And finally, after much debate, it was decided than space transport ships and heavy duty mining vehicles to be constructed and sent to retrieve as much crystals as they can and bring them back to Earth. Top technician scientists are secretly contacted and the armada of ships are constructed as well as the thousands of mining vehicles loaded into the ships. In two years, they brand-new, shiny transport spaceships emerge from the underground factory and blast their way forward on their mining mission, the Mars Mission. But what they were about to encounter was something that they would never want to encounter again.

Pre-Hive Synopsis (2007)

Once arriving on the Red Planet, with vehicles designed for exploration and mining, the astronauts began mining the energy crystals abundant there. But soon, the crystals begin disappearing. It does not take the astronauts long to find the source of the problem: aliens sneakily making raids on their crystals. However, once discovered, the aliens become more open – and dangerous – about their thefts. The Astros quickly convert their vehicles into a hi-tech defense military force, and so, the war on Mars began. Later, the Astros at Eagle Command Base intercept a coded message from the aliens, saying they are not from Mars, but still intend to drive away the astronauts and claim the crystals for themselves. It was a harsh struggle for a long while, with both sides on a stalemate, until one of the Astro machines, named the Crystal Reaper, accidentally stumbled across the cracks forming the surface of the Alien Hive on Olympus Mons.

Hive Synopsis (2008)

Once awakened, the Hive, led by the ancient Alien Commander, led a strike force upon the teams of astronauts searching the mountain for energy crystals. There, the Battle of Olympus Mons began, with both Astros and Aliens taking heavy losses and, in the end, resulting in the destruction of the Hive.

These are the sets that have been released in the Mars Mission line.

• 7644 MX-81 Hypersonic Operations Aircraft

This set is the flagship of the astronauts. It comes with an Alien Spaceship, Mining Rover, and Alien Commander minifigure.

• 7645 MT-61 Crystal Reaper

The set has two scoopers that pick up crystals on the front and two saws to chunk up the ground for crystals. There is a mini experiment lab under the cockpit. There is a small alien ship included. This is one of the few sets with the Alien Commander. The set can also be modified with the Lego Power Functions expansion set, to use two motors, controlled by infrared remote control.

• 7646 ETX Alien Infiltrator

This set has an alien ship that can convert from an Alien Spaceship to a Land Walker.This set has a medium sized robotic mining armoured suit. This is another set that has the Alien Commander.

• 7647 MX-41 Switch Fighter

This set includes an Alien Gunship, and the human MX-41 Switch Fighter which can transform from a land vehicle to a fighter jet.

• 7648 MT-21 Mobile Mining Unit

This set comes with another mining unit, and an alien equipped with a jetpack. The mining unit has an attachment that holds devices to help mine cystals and has a small lab that has the results of an alien scan and a crystal.

• 7690 MB-01 Eagle Command Base

This set includes the Eagle Command Base, a futuristic space shuttle, and an alien strike craft.The Eagle Command Base has an alien and a crystal examiner. It has a pump system to pump crystals and aliens round the base. There is also a defense station that has four air powered foam missiles and makes use of the pump system. The alien strike craft is equivalent to the strike fighter in the crystalien conflict game.

• 7691 ETX Alien Mothership Assault

This set includes the Alien Mothership and a small mining station. The Alien Mothership can split into four different sections: two Vipers, one Dragon Cruiser (the front section), and the main hull. The main hull seems to be the "Experiment Lab" in the CrystAlien Conflict game. The defense station includes a small mining unit attached to a defense turret like the one in the Eagle Command Base.

• 7692 'MX-71 Recon Dropship

This set includes the MX-71 Recon Dropship, a small mining unit, and the only upright alien attack craft. The Recon Dropship's design allows it to pick up the mining unit, carry it around, then drop it off again. The Recon Dropship's weapons include a missile launcher, twin laser cannons, and two homing rockets. The alien craft seats two aliens, and is armed with seven lasers it appears as the "Crystal Extractor" in the online game. In the Crystalien Conflict game, four of its cockpits make up the "Training Camp"

• 7693 ETX Alien Strike

This set includes another alien strikecraft and a small mining unit like the one with the Dropship, but instead containing a pod for captured aliens. The alien craft's wings can open into attack mode to show 15 lasers and deliver maximum firepower. On the CrystAlien Conflict game, the alien ship (in stealth mode) is the Hyper Carrier, equivalent to the Dropship.

• 7694 MT-31 Trike

This set includes the heavy duty Trike, a vehicle that is a quick transport and deadly scout. It is armed with four lasers and carries an alien transport pod. The MT-31 Trike uses one energy crystal.

7695 MX-11 Astro Fighter

This set includes the Astro Fighter and a helpless alien. The MX-11 Astro Fighter is armed with a single laser cannon, powered by a single energy crystal.

• 7697 MT-51 Claw-Tank Ambush

This set includes an alien speeder and the Claw-Tank. The Claw-Tank has an energy disk shooter that holds six energy disks. The two alien transport pods are positioned directly above the treads. The Claw-Tank's large cab can rotate a full 360 degrees. The alien speeder is a small, versatile craft that battles the Claw-Tank with its lasers.

7699 MT-101 Armored Drilling Unit

This massive machine rumbles across Martian terrain, searching for energy crystals. There is a small small alien speeder with lasers, but the Mars Mission Team can fight back with an energy sphere launcher. The mining unit has two leach craft which can split off from the main unit if the main unit is attacked.

• 7649 MT-201 Ultra-Drill Walker

This set features a giant LEGO Mars Mission vehicle which moves by means of its four robotic legs. It also features a large spinning laser drill mounted on the top of it. One astronaut controls this drill, while the second astronaut controls the bottom half of the vehicle. In addition, the spaceship located on the front of the vehicle can be detached to locate and transport energy crystals back to base. This set also features an alien vehicle piloted by the alien commander.

• 5616 Mini-Robot

This set has a mini mining robot and an astronaut, which it helps to find crystals using its crystal energy detector. When it finds some the astronaut will mine it with his pick-axe. The astronaut has a laser gun to defend him and the robot from aliens.

• 5617 Alien Jet

This set comes with a small alien ship and an alien driver.

• 5619 Crystal Hawk

This set comes with a small spaceship , along with the astronaut that drives it. It is a little smaller than the MX-11 Astro Fighter, but has two laser cannons mounted on the front of it however.

Characters

These are the characters in the Mars Mission story according to the Lego Mars Mission website.

Astronauts

• Mission Commander
• Miner
• MT-51 Claw Tank Driver
• MX-11 Astro Fighter Pilot
• Gunner
• MX-71 Recon Dropship Pilot
• MT-31 Trike Driver

Aliens

• Alien Commander
• Alien Drones

CrystAlien Conflict Mechanisms

• Dragon Cruisers

These appear several times in the game Crystalien Conflict by the aliens. They actually appear to be the front part of the mothership.

• Alien Defense Lasers

These are usually used as defense around the landing sites of alien motherships.

• Orbital Tech Beams

Used by the aliens to transport technology from unnamed ships in orbit.

• EM Pulse Generator

Used by the Astros to instantly disable an alien fleet, it is their most effective weapon. It is similar to a nuclear bomb. Only seen in the Crystalien Conflict game on the website.

• Hyper Carrier

The alien version of the recon dropship. It is also known as the ETX Alien Strike.

Related books

• Space Adventures (Reader): Mars Alien Attack!. Scholastic Inc.. 2008. ISBN 9780545082198. 
• Quigley, Sebastian (2000). Mars Mission (Lego Masterbuilders). Lego Media. ISBN 9781903276167. 

References

1. ^ "LEGO Group Momentum Builds". Reuters. 2007-02-19. http://www.toymania.com/news/messages/10043.shtml. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 

External links

• Mars Mission Home
• Mars Mission Games
• LEGO Mars Mission Wiki