Bowie Base One

Bowie Base One was an international base founded on Mars in July 2058. It was built into the Gusev Crater as a research base with a Bio-Dome. The base's shuttle was Apollo 34. The base and shuttle were later compromised by an infectious alien species, as were some of the crew, leading to the base's destruction to prevent the aliens from taking over any more people.

History
The base had a crew of nine humans headed by Captain Adelaide Brooke. The mission was intended to take five years, studying Mars to see if it was suitable for human habitation.

Seventeen months into the mission, the Tenth Doctor arrived on-site. Six of the crew members were infected by the Flood. Captain Brooke initiated Action 5 on 21 November 2059, destroying Bowie Base One in a nuclear explosion. There were only three survivors, plus the Tenth Doctor and a robot called Gadget.

Had the Doctor not intervened, none of the crew would have escaped the disaster with their lives. He was initially reluctant, as the events of the disaster formed a fixed point in time with lasting after-effects on human history. However, driven to desperation at the sight of their suffering, the Doctor decided to change the course of history, unable to accept that the entire crew had to be lost when he could rescue those who were unharmed by the Flood and, in a moment of overconfidence, put their lives above the Laws of Time.

The Doctor took it upon himself to rescue the uninfected crew members back to Earth aboard his TARDIS, where they emerged disoriented and Gadget shut down after it losing contact with its control signal. Unfortunately, Adelaide, being an unwilling rescuee, recognised that if she had perished like history had formerly dictated, her death would have inspired her granddaughter to pioneer space travel, prompting her to take her life not long after being returned to her home on Earth. This left a lasting stain on what once was a heroic legacy, and made the Doctor realise his mistake in altering history and abusing his power as a Time Lord.

The mission included the United Kingdom, United States of America, Russia, Germany, Turkey, South Korea, Lithuania, and Australia. The flags of all of these countries (Lithuania's upside-down) but Pakistan were seen on the wall of the control hub. (Pakistan's flag was not shown but the base doctor was a Pakistani national) Mission Control was based in Houston, Texas. (TV: The Waters of Mars)

Actions

 * Action 1 - Base evacuation, initially ordered by Adelaide Brooke after the infection was detected.
 * Action 5 - The Captain would arm, and detonate, a nuclear device, destroying the base.

Behind the scenes

 * It was most likely named after David Bowie as a reference to his song "Life on Mars".

Bowie One Bowie Base One