Mars

Mars

Role: Major Sol Colony | Resource Mining World
Circumference: 13,263 Miles
Population: Speculation: Tens of Hundreds of millions
Orbital Path: Fourth
Rotational Period (days): 1.025
Orbital Period (days): 687
Primary Function: Resource Mining | Major Colony
Retention Index: 3

Martian Culture has been described to be essentially identical to that of all of Sol's major colonies, including Earth it self. As one of the Federation's oldest colonies, beaten in age only by Luna Base, Martian culture is deeply tied with Earth's culture, and indeed with the culture of the Federation as a whole. Though it's roots stem from initially being a resource mining oriented planet, it has since grown into an expansive and varied colony filled with modern architecture and bold monuments to science.

In modern day, Mars holds many corporations and in particular holds many Office buildings, serving as an administrative center for many of the largest and oldest corporations spanning Federation space.

Most of the remaining resource mining has turned almost fully automated on a grand scale. As such, Martians who enlist are oft from families that have ties to the corporate world or families who work with complex automated machinery, and are prime targets for all branches of Fleet, or Engineers.

History

The first permanent colony on Mars; Olympus Base, was established in 2190, a mere eight years following the establishment of Luna Base on Earth's Moon. Mars had in many aspects proven to be as fruitful as the Federation had hoped, providing vast amounts of material resources with which to expand the Federation's infrastructure, as well as posing as an important stop-over point for the then sub-light only Federation space vessels. Shortly following the permanent establishment of Olympus Base, the Federation commissioned the construction of a permanent orbital base positioned between Mars' two moons; Phobos and Deimos. This orbital base was christened Crimson Base, and acted as an important fuel and repair depot for the Federation's vessels, as well as functioning as an important final line of defense for Earth, should the need ever arise.

Only in one aspect did Mars disappoint. No local fauna or flora was found, and thus Mars was unable to provide food for even itself, let alone act as a Breadbasket for the Sol system, something the Federation was desperately seeking with an ever-increasing demand for food that became ever harder to meet.

Across it's history as a permanent colony, Mars has procedurally been terraformed to hold an atmosphere that closely resembles to of Earth's, providing breathable atmosphere across the planet's surface. Whilst it's underground water resevoirs and the by now nearly completely melted ice caps provide sufficient water to maintain most of it's human colonies, Mars' water deposits simply do not provide enough water to sustain any significant amount of agriculture, and as such Mars largely dependent on supply networks to feed it's population. Doubly so, Mars' soil has proven difficult and costly to cultivate and so most agricultural projects have ceased, opting instead to rely on other sources such as the moon Europa for food and to maintain a steady water supply.