Mars

Mars, without its life, at the end of the terraforming process

Mars is a temperate habitable major world of the Confederacy of Humankind. It was settled in 2092, and terraformed in 2218. For thousands of years, this world was a beacon of life and future to the pre-humanity. It was the first world to be colonised. Eventually, due to the low gravity of the small world, the humans living there stared to evolve. It was very small, just a few more centimetres each generation, but eventually they grew to towering heights, exceeding 2 metres in children. This led to racism, and the abuse of the Martians. This was amplified by the fact that the Martians could not set foot on Earth, due to their evolved bodies, and the Terrans could go to Mars. Eventually, it descended into all out warfare, occurring in 2116. It lasted 4 years, with weapons of choice being asteroids and nuclear weapons. See, here for the full article.

## Settlement

Mars has always been the pinnacle of hopes and dreams for Humans. It was the first planet in the Sol System to be colonised, and the first to be terraformed. The first settlement was located at a sheltered nook in Echus Chasma, and extended up and down kilometres. This went on to be the capital of the planet, named Tharsis Rise. It barely escaped the flooding of Echus Chasma, when the planet was being terraformed.

## Terraforming

Ever since the idea sprung to mind of a long-forgotten person, there has been major debates upon the ethics of terraforming. The majority of the populous voted for the terraforming, but there were extremists parties against the terraforming, which caused major trouble for the planet's government. The terraforming process began while the planet was still under jurisdiction of the United Nations of Earth, and was the main catalyst for the creation and declaration of the United Martian Alliance. First, the atmosphere was pressurised with giant mines in the crust releasing gas into the atmosphere. Shipments from Titan carried in nitrogen for use as a buffer gas. Once the pressure was up to scratch, the atmosphere was changed with the addition of oxygen. At the same time, mirrors in orbit reflected sunlight onto the surface to heat it up. Hundreds of water rich comets were then redirected, and collided with Mars. These flooded Borealis Oceanus, and created clouds. Finally, vegetation was introduced, but never really caught on. Today, the main vegetation is shrubberies and moss.

## Population

Mars is the second most populous world of the Sol System, after Earth. It has just over 2 trillion residing in its cities and orbit. This does not count Phobos and Diemos. It's most populous city is Tharsis Rise, covering around 10% of the entire Tharsis Rise. It houses around a billion people in its extensive underground labyrinth. Mars rarely uses skyscrapers, instead going underground. This is because of the racial memory of the first colonies, being buried underground to protect from the radiation.

## Moons

Mars has four moons, two are artificial. Phobos and Diemos are its two natural moons, with two artificial of the same name except with 'Neo-' at the front. The two artificial moons are used as counterweights for two space elevators, exactly 180 degrees away from each other. Phobos and Diemos have been mined and refined, and are now rotating habitats over a hundred kilometres across. Together, over ten million people call the moons home.