The Inhabitation and Colonization of Mars

## Phase 1 (2033 - 2043)

Sending people to Mars had been the dream of many ever since humans first set foot on the Moon. It would not be until more than 60 years later, in 2033, that the dream would become a reality, however. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries most though that it would have been NASA that would succeeded first in putting people on the Red Planet but as corporations continued to increase in power and influence in the early 21st century and as funding for the American space program continued to stagnate it became increasingly likely that a corporation would be the first to achieve that ambition and in 2033 that is exactly what happened. That year the Coronaro Corporation successfully landed a small team of half a dozen scientists on Mars to set up the first human settlement on the planet, the Nilsen Human Habitat and Research Center or NRC.

The NRC was immediately a huge success. The base was able to be erected and become self-sustaining as was planned without issue. The Coronaro Corporation were the first to land on Mars but they were not the only ones who were interested in that ambition. The success of the mission spurred on others to speed up their plans to go to Mars. One of those corporations was Frost Technologies. In 2037 Frost Technologies landed 10 scientists to construct their own scientific settlement on the planet, the Moretti Science Station or MSS. A rivalry between the two corporations quickly developed as the two began to race each other to grow their Martian expeditions. They would soon be joined, however, by yet another corporation that set their eyes upon the planet.

Rosrabotka would be this corporation and they would land their base, the Leonov Expeditionary Base, along with 6 scientists in the year 2040. With this Mars started to be viewed as a much more attainable goal and something to be really looked into. Many corporations would begin their own smaller scale space research divisions and would begin to build their own plans for outer space. For the corporations that had already invested in missions to Mars they continued to speed up their progress and increase their resources allocated to their respective missions. This began with the Coronaro Corporation sending a second manned mission to Mars the following year. On this mission was an unprecedented 25 scientists who would expand the NRC to the largest human settlement on Mars and continue researching the Red Planet. Two years later Frost Technologies responded with landing another 10 of their scientists on the planet with the goal of assessing the potential of a mining operation.

## Phase 2 (2044 - 2055)

All of these efforts would be slowed considerably in just the next year, however, as the Second American Civil War was just beginning and then as The Great Manifestation happened the year after that. There would be a 5 year gap between the last mission in 2043 and the next in 2048. During that time no more missions were sent to Mars but research on the planet continued uninterrupted. This all came to an end when Rosrabotka sent their second manned flight to Mars consisting of a team of 6 scientists and 20 engineers. Their objective on this mission was two fold. The first was to increase the scientific research they were conducting on the planet but their larger and more important objective was to start building infrastructure to support a future tourism industry on the planet.

Coronaro Corp. would shortly thereafter embark on their most ambitious Martian project yet. In 2049 they would land a team of 25 engineers to begin the building of a self-sustaining Martian colony to eventually receive normal civilians. The next year a new corporation would make their presence know on Mars. Xiaoran Aerospace, learning from the other corporations that came before them, landed the largest team yet to be landed on the planet of 8 scientists and 30 engineers with the intention of setting up a settlement and to begin researching mining operations on the planet. The settlement was named the Fialin Scientific Settlement and Operations Base or FSS and was a product of the Feiyan Project.

It would not be long for Xiaoran Aerospace to get some bittersweet news on this front. Shortly after their successful landing Frost Technologies would announce that they would be sending another ship to Mars with the intention to finish setting up a mining operation and then to begin mining the planet shortly thereafter. In 2052 that would be exactly what happened. Frost Technologies would land team of 10 scientists and 30 more engineers to construct the first Martian mining operation although it would take a few years before they would be able to mine anything from the planet.

The next year, 2053, would once again see a new player on the Martian stage. Much like Xiaoran, Kasumei Heavy Industries would learn from those before them in order to send their own team of people to Mars. They would send a record 25 scientists and 25 engineers to the planet in one flight with the intention of building infrastructure for future tourism and for a future colony.

It would take two more years before another manned flight would land on Mars. Rosrabotka would make their way back to the planet to land a team of 10 scientists, 10 engineers, and 30 other staff members to continue their scientific endeavors at Leonov Expeditionary Base and to finish constructing their tourism infrastructure and prepare to open to the public.

## Phase 3 (2056 - 2061)

In 2056 the most important mission yet occurred. Coronaro Corp. would establish the first permanent human settlement on the planet. A team of 10 scientists and 10 engineers would land along with 100 colonists from Earth to inhabit the completed colony. The settlement would be dubbed Avareise by the people living there in the coming months. Shortly afterwards Xiaoran would land their second mission to the planet. On this mission are 10 scientists and 40 engineers sent with the intention of finishing the setup of their mining operations on the planet and to begin setting up a colony. Just a few months later Rosrabotka would finish construction and would open up for tourism, being the first to offer the service on the planet.

Things would slow down for a bit after 2056. Their would be only one new expedition to the planet in the next couple years. This would come in 2057 and be sent by Frost Technologies. It would consist of a team of 20 scientists and 40 engineers and would carry the goal of expanding their mining operations on the planet. A couple years after that in 2059 Kasumei Heavy Industries would land their second vessel on the planet. They would land 10 scientists, 35 engineers, and 30 other staff to finish tourism infrastructure and colony preparations. A year later Kasumei would be the second corporation to open for tourism on Mars. 2060 would also see one more mission reach the planet. This one would be led by Rosrabotka and contain 20 scientists, 20 engineers, and 50 other staff with the intention of expanding their tourism operations.

Mars would see another big year in 2061. This year would see a total of three separate missions reach Mars. The first would be led by Coronaro Corp. and would be a huge expansion to Avareise. 1000 colonists and 50 scientists would arrive on the planet. The second would be sent by Xiaoran and would be sent with the intention of expanding mining operations and finishing their colony preparations. The third and final one would be sent by Kasumei. A team of 10 scientists and 10 engineers would arrive with 200 colonists to be the first to inhabit the second colony on Mars. Following in the footsteps of the colonists from Coronaro, the colonists that landed at the Kasumei colony also named their colony. They chose the name Saikan.

## Phase 4 (2062 - Present)

In 2062 Frost Technologies would find themselves landing another mission on the planet. This one was a little different from the others that had come before though. This one would be their last focused mission to Mars. After this point Frost would cement plans to expand their mining operations and scientific base on the planet indefinitely. They would not adhere to any set schedule or have any specific larger objectives. They would simply continue sending missions whenever they found it useful.

The next year Xiaoran would complete the preparations for their colony and would land 200 colonists accompanied by 10 scientists and 10 engineers. Just a few months later Kasumei would successfully land a ship of their own with 10 scientists, 20 engineers, and 50 other staff on board. The goal of which was to expand tourism infrastructure across their territory.

A year later in 2064 Coronaro would follow in the footsteps of Frost Technologies and set up plans to continually send new colonists to the planet. Rosrabotka would do the same shortly afterwards and begin to send scientists to the planet indefinitely and workers to expand tourism operations as needed.

Kasumei would start to compete with Coronaro more heavily in 2065 when they would land 1000 colonists and 10 scientists at their colony. Not long after Xiaoran would make plans to expand mining indefinitely but they would not yet be done with their colony. There would be another couple of years before another major mission reached the planet. In 2067 Xiaoran would land another ship on the planet. This time choosing to focus on their colony. This ship would contain 10 scientists and 1000 colonists.

In the next two successive years Kasumei would land their last two focused missions on the planet. In the first they would land their last planned tourism expansion mission and in the next they would land their last colony expansion mission. After this they would expand both continually with no plans of stopping but follow the same formula generally every time. 2071 would see the last major mission to Mars and it would be led by Xiaoran and would be their last colonial mission to the planet before following the path of all the other corporations on the planet.

In the modern day there are ships travelling to and from Mars regularly and many of them even have set schedules. It is not an uncommon thing to hear of some of the most wealthy travelling to the planet and many people involved in the mining processes and transportation travel outer space regularly. Many people wish to leave Earth altogether and want nothing more than to be a member of one of the Martian colonies. This is still a very expensive endeavor, however, something not easily achieved.