Cupid

**Cupid**, previously known as **2004 FH19**, is an M-type asteroid artificially placed in orbit around the planet **Venus** to serve as a permanent moon for the purposes of Human economic and scientific activities around Venus. Formerly a quasi-satellite of Venus, it has been placed into a direct orbit around Venus and hollowed out to serve as an orbital base for all operations in the Venusian sphere.

## Physical Properties

Cupid is an M-type asteroid composed primarily of iron and nickel alongside other metallic resources. Unlike many asteroids within the inner Solar System, Cupid is a contact binary composed of two large lobes held together through their own gravity, which initially created complications for use of the asteroid as an orbital platform. Its rotational speed has been artificially increased to give Cupid Station artificial gravity of approximately 0.52 g. Most of the materials used in the station were harvested from the moon itself.

## History

Discovered through routine surveillance of the inner Solar System in 2004, 2004 FH19 was of little interest until colonization and terraformation of Mars began to increase in earnest in the mid-21st century. After the gas carriers began to regularly transit between Venus and **Mars**, proposals to create a large station around Venus soon came down in favor of similar methods deployed around mars with **Phobos** and **Deimos**, and after several candidates were considered, 2004 FH19 was selected as the best option.

Beginning in 2077, 2004 FH19 went through a period of intense study before being outfitted with specifically-designed ion engines to slowly alter its orbit and maneuver it into a Venusian orbit. During this process, 2004 FH19 also underwent hollowing-out much as Phobos and Deimos had, preparing both internal habitation and processing facilities along with external docking ports. It was finally placed into a final Venusian orbit in 2097, which after some modification was placed in a close orbit around Venus and finally given the official designation Venus I, formally named "Cupid".

## Overview

As an artificially-engineered moon of Venus, Cupid represents one of the most significant actions yet undertaken by humanity to engineer the Solar System aside from the terraformation of Mars. Administered by the UNSA, Cupid has since 2093 been the "capital" of the Venusian sphere, host to a variable population primarily dedicated to the upkeep and oversight of all human activity on and around Venus. As Venus presents a much more significant challenge to terraformation efforts as compared to Mars, Cupid is more focused on activities on Venus as they relate to Mars, in particular being the unofficial hub of the gas-carrier fleet for both resupplying and directing the fleet as it transitions between the two planets.

The process of hollowing out Cupid is still ongoing. As of 2110, Cupid can support a maximum population of 237 humans indefinitely, which is expected to increase as further hollowing-out takes place over the next century. To further support this, the two halves of the contact binary have been artificially reinforced to minimize the risk of separation along the less dense portions, which was considered the biggest drawback to its use. Presently, there is only a single corridor between the two lobes of the moon, but with further reinforcements this will increase in the next century.