ECHO-1237-3c

**ECHO-1237-3c**, officially designated as Alexander's Moon, is an extrasolar moon orbiting the 3rd planet **ECHO-1237-3**, Tatis, in the **ECHO-1237 System**. Originally named "Thanatos" by astronomer Gabriel Moran, it was renamed "Alexander's Moon" in honor of the moon's discoverer, Alexander Wright, and was the first naturally habitable moon to be colonized by humanity. It was also the first exomoon discovered to harbor life, which was hypothesized to exist before the colonization of the moon and proved afterwards through subsequent research.

## Discovery

Alexander's Moon was discovered on October 6th, 2167, by Alexander Wright and Paul Lensin at the ECHO Planetary Research Station-12 located in the Pwyll Crater on Jupiter's moon, Europa. Europa Station-12 had the primary objective of searching for habitable exoplanets in neighboring star systems and assessing their suitability for human colonization. However, Wright and Lensin stumbled upon a moon instead of a planet. This moon boasted remarkably favorable conditions for human colonization efforts, making it a groundbreaking discovery. It represented the first-ever finding of its kind—an exomoon with a stable and breathable atmosphere, liquid water, near-Earth gravity, and an ideal average surface temperature.

### Name

Alexander's Moon was named after its discoverer Alexander Wright, an astronomer and astrophysicist working for the ECHO Planetary Research Agency. The moon was given its name after Wright's untimely death on August 3rd, 2175, only a year before the moon was accepted into the Earth Colonization Effort.

## Colonization

On June 21st, 2176, Alexander's Moon was accepted into the Earth Colonization Effort and was designated the Earth-3 Colony of the Journey expedition. The expedition consisted of 2 massive colony ships, transporting 3,450 settlers and an entire fleet of light construction and transportation ships, with enough supplies to form a pre-settlement able to support 5,000 inhabitants for up to 20 years. The primary goal of the expedition was to arrive at Alexander's Moon, form a self-sustaining settlement, and return back to Earth within 20 years to transport more supplies and settlers to the moon.

### Pre-colonization and arrival

On March 13th, 2182, the Colony embarked on a 13-year-long expedition to Alexander's Moon. Unlike other colonization efforts, this expedition had a relatively short travel time, eliminating the need for hibernation among the settlers. Due to this, the colony remained active throughout the entire journey, enabling continuous measurements of the moon's atmosphere and surface from a distance. As the colony approached the star system, onboard teams confirmed that the moon's atmosphere was indeed breathable for humans and plant life without requiring climate assistance. They also determined that the space surrounding the moon, along with its gravity, was safe for the colony ships to enter orbit and initiate colonization efforts.

On E.D 9.8.2195, the colony officially arrived in the Nilus star system, taking precautions to minimize damage from debris by significantly decreasing its velocity. Over the following three months, the lead colony ship conducted comprehensive scans of the moon's surface and collaborated with a team comprising geologists, physicists, chemists, and botanists. Together, they identified an ideal location for the development of a pre-settlement—a flat and elevated region measuring 327 sq. km, situated just south of the moon's equator. This area boasted mineral deposits, nutrient-rich soil, freshwater sources, and geothermal geysers. The chosen location proved advantageous, as prior atmospheric and weather scans indicated high levels of rainfall, leading to flooding in lower elevation regions surrounding the selected area.

### Colonization efforts

On E.D 12.05.2195, the Earth-3 Colony successfully reached Alexander's Moon and achieved geostationary orbit above the planned pre-settlement location. Prior to the colonization effort, an unmanned drone reconnaissance mission was conducted to assess the safety of the moon's surface for initial contact. Once confirmation was received from the drone operators regarding the surface's safety, small teams of scientists were dispatched to the moon's surface via light transportation ships. Over a span of 8 weeks, they collected samples of the atmosphere, soil, rocks, and water during various weather conditions, with the intention of studying them aboard the colony ships. Upon completion of all surface studies, Colony ship 1 descended into a low-moon orbit and began the transportation of 750 settlers. These settlers were distributed among construction and storage ships, and were provided with temporary home ships during the first weeks of colonization.

The main objective of the 750 personnel was to establish a self-sufficient pre-settlement using modular construction techniques. This pre-settlement included crucial facilities such as medical bays, storage warehouses, agricultural domes, and living quarters equipped with sleeping, dining, exercise, and bathing areas. With assistance from the two colony ships in orbit, the colony worked diligently for nearly 5 months to achieve their goal of constructing a pre-settlement capable of accommodating 5,000 individuals and sustaining itself through local resources.

Following the completion of the pre-settlement, the remaining 2,700 settlers aboard the two colony ships were successfully transported to it's location.

### Post-colonization

On 06.13.2196, the settlement was formally christened "New Alexandria," paying homage to the Ancient Egyptian city of the same name and serving as a tribute to Alexander Wright, the moon's discoverer. Now fully developed, New Alexandria functions as a vital agricultural and industrial center on Alexander's Moon. It serves as a central hub, facilitating the establishment of satellite settlements across the moon's surface. Since its inception, New Alexandria has completed 12 return trips in collaboration with Earth, transporting additional supplies and colonists on each occasion.

## Physical characteristics

Alexander's Moon has a diameter approximately 30% smaller than that of Earth's and a surface area that is half the size. However, despite its smaller size, the moon actually possesses 39.83% more land area than Earth due to its significant lack of surface water, which occupies only around 5% of its total surface. Its mass is only 37% of Earth's, resulting in a gravitational force that is approximately 75% of Earth's gravity. The moon also exhibits a magnetic field, is seismically active, and experiences extensive volcanic activity across its surface.

### Surface geology

Alexander's Moon is a terrestrial lacustrine world, characterized by a surface primarily composed of grayish volcanic rock, silica-rich basalt, metals, and sand consisting largely of finely grained iron oxide dust. This composition contributes to the moon's reddish-orange appearance in certain regions. Several areas of the moon feature significant deposits of high-calcium pyroxenes, along with localized concentrations of hematite and olivine. The soil on the moon is slightly alkaline, with a basic pH of 6.8, and it contains essential elements such as magnesium, sodium, potassium, and chlorine. These elements are also present on Earth and crucial for the growth of plants.

### Surface features

Alexander's Moon appears largely gray due to grayish-black volcanic rock, while its reddish-orange terrain results from high concentrations of iron in rocks and fine iron oxide dust that covers most of the moons regions. The absence of widespread plant life and large bodies of water gives the moon a vast desert-like appearance, being described as looking desolate and inhospitable, and sometimes being compared to the planet Mars for its similarity in size and color. Despite this, the moon maintains a considerable level of humidity across its surface due to extensive underground subsurface lakes and rivers, as well as springs and geothermal pools. These subsurface lakes and caverns, as well as other prominent surface features, indicate that the moon was once covered in a vast ocean that spanned from pole to pole.

The largest body of water on the moon, known as the Castalian Sea, connects to three other sizable surface-level lakes via massive river systems that were formed by underwater canyons. These rivers contribute to a fertile agricultural landscape, complemented by springs, geysers, subsurface reservoirs, and geothermal pools. These natural features play a crucial role in providing water and energy to the moon's inhabitants.

Alexander's Moon is also covered in multiple large impact craters, indicative of a relatively recent collision event that dramatically changed the moons surface features. Strata from these collisions have revealed high concentrations of iron, magnesium, aluminum, calcium, and potassium within the moons crust, similar to that of Earth.