Mars
From FABT
| |
|---|---|
| Star, position: |
Sol, IV |
| Location: | |
| Satellite(s): | |
| Gravity: |
0.38 G |
| Diameter: |
3,402 km |
| Day length: |
24.6 Earth hours |
| Year length: |
687 Earth days |
| Atmosphere: |
Trace |
| Temperature: |
- 138 °C |
| Adjective: |
Martian |
| Population: |
3.4 million |
| Species: | |
| Societal approximation: |
Representative democracy |
| Affiliation: | |
| Capital: | |
- "A few colonies on Mars, and a little exploration here...and before you know it, here we are. That's a lot of progression over just one hundred years."
- — Jon Grissom.
Mars is the fourth planet in the Sol system of the Local cluster. Mars was the first and primary target for humanity's first interstellar colonization efforts as early as the 2010s CE, but the technology at the time was insufficient to logistically support such an endeavour: Mars' harsh climate made establishing habitable conditions for humans particularly difficult, and the lack of FTL travel at the time meant that a trip between Earth and Mars would take years. In 2046 CE, NASA fielded the first manned mission on Mars, establishing a small outpost on the planet; in 2079 CE, the European Space Agency launched an FTL-equipped expedition and settled on the Eos Chasma region, establishing a small settlement. By 2091 CE, NASA, Roscosmos and CNSA had followed suit, settling in the Agyre Planitia, Noctis Labyrinthus and Valles Marineris regions respectively. In 2146 CE, the ESA and Roscosmos both detected an unusual subterranean energy signature, and led an expedition to investigate it: what they discovered was a massive prothean facility, and the technology reverse-engineered from it led to a hundred years of development in just three. With the establishment of the Systems Alliance in 2149 CE, all of the settlements on Mars were unified under an Alliance government. Mars' defenses were crippled by the Reapers during their initial invasion of Sol in 2186 CE, with Reaper forces pacifying Earth before coming back to lay siege to and conquer Mars, with the planet falling in mere hours. Following the Reaper War, much of Mars' infrastructure was severely damaged, and it wouldn't be until 2221 CE before it was returned to its former strength.
Mars eventually became a military and economic powerhouse in its own right, with Lionhead Armoury, the Alliance military's chief producer of weapons and equipment, headquartered at Lowell City. The planet was protected by orbital defense installations and naval assets, and numerous cities dotted the planet's surface. Many corporations made their home on Mars as terraforming efforts worked to eventually transform the barren world into a garden world, funding that had begun to show fruit by 2186 CE with the slight increase in oxygen content in the atmosphere. The efforts to transform Mars would ultimately prove successful, with a diverse eco system and Earth-like atmosphere developing by 2687 CE.
The planet is named after one of the Roman deities of the ancient Roman pantheon known as Mars, who was the god of war in Roman mythology.