Mars
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The fourth planet in the Sol System, Mars orbits at a distance varying between 1.38 and 1.67 astronomical units. Originally, Mars was a Class H planet; its water frozen in two polar caps, a surface pressure 0.007 times that of Earth, and a weak magnetic field made habitation impractical (though human scientists discovered microscopic evidence of ancient life on Mars in 1996). Daytime surface temperatures rarely climbed above freezing, and the atmosphere was composed mainly of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, and trace amounts of oxygen. The planet got its name from its distinctive red appearance, which ancient astronomers likened to the Roman god of war.
Humans colonized Mars in 2103, undertaking an extensive terraforming program to transform the planet into a Class M environment. The melting of the Martian ice caps provided oxygen and water vapor to enhance the planet's thin atmosphere. Earth terraformers imported large quantities of water and oxygen mined from nearby asteroids, accompanied by genetically engineered microbes and plant life intended to "scrub" the Martian atmosphere. Because of the weak magnetic field, these elements settled close to the planet's surface. Martian colonies largely exist in the planet's valleys and canyons; those on the highlands remain enclosed habitats. Large areas of the planet's surface remain dry, red desert.
Mars features some of the most spectacular geography in the Sol System, including the gigantic Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the system, and numerous deep canyons cut by ancient Martian rivers. Many of these canyons are again home to rivers and some spectacular waterfalls. These are popular tourist attractions on the planet.
Currently, Mars is home to a population of some 280 million inhabitants, primarily humans. Martians are fiercely proud of their heritage, and many urban centers retain the old numbering system used to identify colonies, such as Mars Colony 3. Other settlements have been renamed in honor of famous Earth, Martian, and Federation places and individuals. These include Viking City, Burroughs City, Wells Center, and Cochrane. Most of the population is centered on Utopia Planitia, a broad plateau and the first region on Mars to be explored by humans.
Climate
The climate of Mars has slowly changed, almost from the moment that the first settlers from Earth arrived in 2103. Terraforming projects, always incremental in nature, have gradually made the planet more hospitable to human habitation. As of 2350, the planet was close to having a fully breathable atmosphere. Colonists could move about outside without pressurized suits, although wearing some form of protection against ultraviolet radiation was still advisable. And there was enough oxygen in the atmosphere so that only children, the elderly and the infirm needed their own supply of breathable air while out of doors.
Temperatures are both warmer and less extreme as a result of terraforming. Before human settlement, temperatures on Mars varied from -150 degrees to 60 degrees Celsius. After 250 years of environmental modification, Mars' climate became much more like that of Earth, although the mean temperatures in all regions of the planet were still colder. As a result of all of these changes, Mars now merits Class M designation.
Geography
After 250 years of terraforming, only 10% of Mars’ surface is covered by water, all of it in freshwater lakes created from existing impact craters. The vast majority of the planet is still dry land. The southern hemisphere is geologically ancient and heavily cratered with the scars of billions of years of meteorite impacts, rather like Earth’s Moon. Terrain in the northern hemisphere is smoother and geologically younger.
Mars has its share of interesting surface features. One of the most famous and spectacular is the extinct volcano Olympus Mons, at 24 kilometers the tallest mountain in the Sol system. It is more than 500 kilometers in diameter at its base and it is ringed by a cliff 6 kilometers high. Another spectacular feature is the network of steep canyons known as Valles Marineris, which stretches for 4,000 kilometers and measures anywhere from 2 to 7 kilometers deep. Hellas Mare is a huge freshwater lake in the southern hemisphere created from Mars’ largest impact crater, Hellas Planitia.
Martian Colonies
Although they like to refer to themselves as Martians, the Humans who live on Mars are officially citizens of Earth, and the planet operates politically as an Earth/UFP colony. Thanks to the partially successful Martian independence movement of the mid-22nd century, however, Mars governs itself with a significant degree of autonomy. It wields enough clout so that Earth’s delegation to the Federation Council always contains at least one high-ranking member from Mars.
In theory, a colonial governor appointed by the Federation runs Mars, to which Earth formally ceded all authority over its colonies in 2200. In practice, however, the governor functions as a figurehead, ratifying decisions made by the Mars Elective Assembly. The Elective Assembly, which sees itself as the spiritual descendant of the Mars Constituent Assembly formed during the headiest days of the independence movement, consists of 100 delegates, each selected from a geographical section containing 1 percent of the planet’s population. In cases where there is significant disagreement between the Elective Assembly and the policies of the Federation Council, the governor’s job is to mediate between Mars’ elected legislature and the Federation. In other words, Mars operates with significantly more independence than just about any other Federation colony, but it inherited this arrangement when Earth helped form the UFP and it has had to live with it.
The first Humans to settle Mars adopted the term “Martians” in a joking spirit, knowing full well that their species had a history of fascination with the possibility of advanced life on Mars going back to the 19th century. Every year, they organized the H.G. Wells Martian Festival, named in honor of the 20th century author whose fantastical novel War of the Worlds described an invasion of Earth by an advanced race of Martians. As the Martian independence movement gathered steam in the mid-22nd century, however, the residents of Mars took the term more seriously, and it became a symbol of their desire to govern themselves without interference from Earth. By the 24th century, it could serve either as a joking reference or a serious description. Most of the colony’s population was native born by this time, and fewer and fewer of them visited Earth much, if at all. The idea of being Human, yet identifying oneself wholly with Mars seemed less and less absurd with every passing generation. A small number of enthusiasts kept the H.G. Wells Martian Festival alive, but for most residents it was a curiosity rather than an expression of the cultural mainstream.
History
Human settlement of Mars dates to 2103, when the first permanent colony was established on the vast plain known as Utopia Planitia. The original settlement, christened Nova Ares, was established by the United Earth Space Probe Agency to support exploration of deep space, as well as the rest of the Sol system. Nova Ares’ first inhabitants were mostly UESPA support personnel who oversaw ship launches and refueling, both of which were considered at the time too dangerous to perform in the immediate vicinity of Earth.
Almost from the moment of their founding, the Martian colonists had a reputation for independence of spirit — or quarrelsomeness, depending on how you look at it. Although the first settlers were loyal UESPA employees, they also knew that they had been sent into space to do Earth’s dirty work, and their isolation did nothing to quell any resentment this caused. As the colony grew, it attracted free spirits who just wanted to live on Mars and other folk who had nothing to do with UESPA operations. In particular, the fact that the Mars colonists had no formal political representation back on Earth even though they were obliged to pay taxes to Earth authorities began to rankle them.
By the mid-22nd century, settlement on Mars had spread beyond the Utopia Planitia, and the colonists were sufficiently numerous and confident of themselves that a movement for independence from Earth began to form. Some began to agitate for independence openly. The colonial authorities promptly arrested all demonstrators and often detained them under circumstances that would be considered unacceptable on Earth. In 2152, informal groups of activists and political theorists coalesced to form the 100-member Mars Constituent Assembly, which met for the first time in a park across the street from the colonial governor’s mansion. Later that year, the Constituent Assembly published a document called the “Fundamental Declaration of the Martian Colonies,” which asserted that the Mars colonists were entitled to the same political and legal rights as anyone living on Earth, since they were, after all, citizens of Earth.
This Mars independence movement presented Earth’s colonial authorities with a dilemma. Mars was too important to lose, yet they were unwilling to meet the colonists’ demands and just as reluctant to use force to suppress them. The question of what to do with Mars became even more troublesome when war with the Romulan Star Empire broke out in 2155. What if Mars should break away politically, taking their irreplaceable fleet support facilities with them?
However, the colonists faced dilemmas of their own. They understood that the Romulans could attack the Sol system if Earth was weakened, and if they did so they were likely to treat Mars as just another Human settlement. Mars needed Earth to defend itself, just as Earth needed Mars. In 2158, with the war still raging about them, the Earth authorities and the Mars Constituent Assembly approved an arrangement under which Mars would retain its allegiance to Earth, while the Mars colonists would gain considerable authority to govern themselves. Voices still called for Martian independence, but those voices were heard on the periphery, no longer in the center of the planet’s political life.
But if the Earth-Romulan War raised valid questions over whether Mars could survive without Earth’s protection, the formation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161 rendered moot any remaining controversy over Martian independence. Even if Mars were to sever all political ties with Earth, surely it would join the Federation anyway, and an independent Mars would be a weak and powerless member at that. Besides, the Martians might be seen as selfish spoilers, making trouble for one of the Federation’s charter members at a time when this noble organization devoted to interstellar brotherhood was still settling onto its supports.
Since then, the Federation has viewed Mars as a dependable and valuable asset. In 2230 Starfleet expanded upon the old Earth fleet support bases and built the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards around them. The Utopia Planitia yards quickly became one of Starfleet’s most important construction and support facilities and the birthplace of some of its most famous vessels. The Enterprise-D launched from there in 2363, and the Defiant prototype designed to combat the Borg was designed there.
Mars Defense Perimeter
Just beyond Mars' orbit, Starfleet has established a defensive perimeter to protect the inner planets of the Sol system - particularly Earth and Mars = from incursion. The defense perimeter consists of unmanned automated weapon pods, capable of tracking and destroying hostile vessels that managed to bypass facilities such as the Jupiter Outposts and Pluto Station. In 2367, the Borg easily penetrated the Mars Defense Perimeter on their way to Earth.
Since then, Starfleet has worked continuously to improve the Mars Defense Perimeter. The Perimeter still consists of unmanned automated pods, deployed in a pattern just outside the asteroid belt. The weapon pods have since been given self-replicating capabilities, allowing each pod to generate exact copies of itself using a matter replication system. The pods are programmed to replicate in response to an attack that destroys any nearby pod, increasing the number of pods able to responds to an incursion.
The pods are also programmed to explode if any vessel comes into contact with them without transmitting the proper coded signals. A weapon pod explodes with the force of several photon torpedoes, sufficient to damage most vessels seriously. The weapon pods are armed with high-energy, variable-frequency phaser beams.
Starfleet vessels regularly patrol the Mars Defense Perimeter in order to maintain the weapon pods, checking for any damage to their systems. Starfleet cadets may be assigned to accompany a Defense Perimeter patrol in order to study the design and maintenance of the weapon pods.
Locations on Utopia Planitia
Independence Hall
Located in Viking City, the largest city in Utopia Planitia, the Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies was signed here. Inhabitants on Mars have long been known as pioneers. After the first Martian Colonies were well established, their desire for increased independence from Earth led to the promulgation of this document, which addresses the legal rights of the individual that have become some of the foundations of Federation ideology and law. Visitors file past the original document, now kept in an environmentally secure case.
Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards - Ground Facilities
Perhaps the premier starship construction facilities orbits directly above Utopia Planitia. The ground facilities contain administrative officers for the yards, where most of the civilian administrative personnel work and provide support information for the orbital facilities. Although access to the area is restricted, visitors can stop by the museum to see declassified blueprints and models for Starfleet vessels as well as conjectural designs. Component assembly also takes place here on the Martian surface, in large hangars. Tourists can watch these components lifting off into space from beyond the yard's perimeter.
Mass Drivers
A system for delivering large payloads inexpensively, mass drivers are effectively large catapults. These took advantage of Mars' weak gravity to propel titanic cargo containers into orbit, where they were retrieved by DY-100 cargo ships. With the advent of transporter technology, mass drivers fell out of use. Today, tourists can visit these giant superstructures hulking on the plateau outside Viking City.
Elysium Planitia Volcanoes
One of the natural wonders of Mars, the area measures 3 km high and 5312 km in diameter. The principle volcano is Elysium Mons, which is 15 km high. You can arrange excursions from any tourist office in Viking City or Cochrane.
Elsewhere
By the 24th century, Nova Ares had become a thriving city of 100,000 residents. The Federation colonial governor lives in the center of town, in a modest, yet well appointed mansion formerly occupied by the colonial governors from Earth. The Mars Elective Assembly meets across the street in a stately conference hall built from stone regularly sandblasted with dust composed of red Martian soil. The Elective Assembly is built on the site of the first meeting of the Mars Constituent Assembly in 2147. The tallest structure in Nova Ares is the sleek, 100-story skyscraper that houses the headquarters of Dennis-Young Amalgamated Industries, the largest private corporation on Mars.
All of Mars’ most distinctive topographical features have been popular tourist attractions almost since the colony’s earliest days. Hotels catering to visitors from Earth (and later, elsewhere in the Federation) dot the surrounding landscape. The Hopkins Interplanetary Hotels luxury chain opened a five-star resort at Olympus Mons in 2248. Shuttlecraft tours of the great mountain, as well as the Valles Marineris canyons have long been a staple of the sightseer’s experience on Mars. Since terraforming made the atmosphere more or less breathable, boating and water sports on Hellas Mare have also become popular attractions.
Reference(s)
- Burns, Eric, Kenneth A. Hite & Doug Sun. Star Trek Roleplaying Game Book 7: Worlds, Decipher, 2005. ISBN: 1582369097.
- Isaacs, Ross A., et al. A Cadet's Guide to Sector 001, New York: Last Unicorn Games, 1999.