Mercury - Too hot, uninhabited, some remains of failed manned exploratory attemp

ts and short-lived automated data collection missions. generally considered life

less and useless
Venus - a few enterprising corporations have established chemical resource colle
ction centers on the surface, with a skeleton crew of laborers supporting a larg
ely automated mining mission. Orbiting command posts and refineries surround. So
me questions exist about chemical weapons-related facilities on an around planet
Earth - still heavily populated. Suffers from resource depletion problems and se
vere warming. Life on Earth is as restricted as life on Mars due to harshness of
environment. Tech and manufacturing center due to being sole source of petroleu
m and citizens generally considering the environment a lost cause. Also home to
the most advanced energy utilization research centers in the system.
New Earth (Mars) - Populated, terraforming is progressing, life is expensive but
supported by Asteroid Belt mining operations. Severred political ties with Eart
h in the recent (TBD what recent means) past. New Earth was the name given by fi
rst settlers, after breakaway the old name of Mars was chosen by people there. M
anufacturing and other industrial operations are highly restricted due to sensit
ivity of terraformed environment and memories of what industry did to Earth's en
vironment. Enviro-tech is primary on-surface industry. Mars also maintains a str
anglehold on resource production in the Belt and some hi-tech space travel indus
try (with research on surface and some orbital manufacturing).
Asteroid belt - heavy resource extraction controlled by Earth and Martian intere
sts. some small colonies (generally self-governed)
Europa (or Saturn equivalent) - a small settlement governed by Earth, has begun
wrestling w/ Mars over control of Belt resources. Fledgling gas extraction opera
tions from Saturn.
Beyond - no settlements, but some travel and random ventures. Nothing permanent
established
2030 - first manned mission arrives on Martian soil. Chinese.
2038 - Joint manned mission between western Europe, USA, Japan lands on Mars.
2045 - true peak oil reached. treacherous decline begins.
2048 - First semi-permanent Martian settlement established. Intended as an explo
ratory ten year base with permanent colonizers who would move into a more perman
ent settlement once established.
2056 - peak oil recognized, rapid increase in nuclear alternatives to save oil f
or synthetics processing. environmental concerns start to rapidly decrease as ev
erybody shifts focus to maintaining economy in the face of huge changes brought
on by peak oil. Space exploration loses most funding as it is shifted to energy
production and utilization. Decision made to develop final humanitarian mission
to Mars to recover settlers and return to Earth. Plans made to continue supplyin
g exploratory base and maintain until such time as humanitarian mission can arri
ve.
2059 - Humanitarian mission launched
2060 - Humanitarian mission arrives, too late for settlers. Critical life suppor
t was over-extended and failed months prior to arrival.
2067 - First of a series of nuclear accidents occurs, but development using uran

ium stockpiles continues.

2073 - Lax security on nuclear stockpiles, particularly in developing nations, r
esults in the release of a dirty bomb in a population center. Small conflict fol
lows.
2074 - Global reaction to the dirty bomb was swift but ineffectual. Existing sto
ckpiles secured, but a multitude of material was already lost in prior years. Se
veral more bombs released over coming decades, creating several severely radioac
tive zones and widespread casualties.
2080 - As final step of transition to new fuels, petroleum is banned for all tra
nsportation and energy purposes. Limited to industrial processes such as the pro
duction of plastics.
2150 - environment still under duress from changes due to peak oil. temperature
increase and pollution begin to make life uncomfortable for general population.
Overcrowding is apparent. Energy is now produced efficiently and with very littl
e pollution, but damage from past sins is found to be near irreversible. People
start looking for a way out, and space exploration is revisited as a potential e
xit strategy.
2160 - First new manned space program makes first flight.
2165 - First new moon landing since 2055.
2172 - Semi-permanent moon settlement established
2180 - Manned mission arrives on Mars
2190 - Initial terraforming experiments on moon begin
2198 - Semi-permanent settlement on Mars
2207 - Permanent settlement on Mars. Optimistically renamed "New Earth".
2215 - terraforming experiments show promise, but lack of mass proves insurmount
able on Moon
2220 - Settlement continues to expand. Resource harvesting initiated to help off
set costs of settlement, creating economic link to Earth.
2253 - New use found for uncommon resource which greatly enhances space travel.
Transit time between Earth and Mars reduced to minimum of 6.5 days (0.1% the spe
ed of light). Massive implications for rest of solar system.
2255 - Failed Moon terraforming experiments shifted to New Earth.
2271 - New Earth reaches unprecedented population of 6000 permanent residents an
d growing steadily.
2297 - First corporation establishes exploratory missions to Venus to look for r
esources of value.
2311 - Space travel and shipping has developed into single largest industry in t
he solar system.Corporations have begun looking at Venus and the Asteroid Belt a
s potential resource banks. New advancements and an increasingly smooth supply c
hain greatly accelerate the terraforming process of New Earth.
2350 - New Earth reaches population of 100,000. Most Earth corporations focused

on mining Asteroid Belt relocate headquarters to New Earth due to proximity.

2370 - Asteroid belt resource extraction explodes as final important reserves of
nuclear and other material falter on Earth. New Earth is primary economic benef
iciary.
2400 - New Earth population plateaus at 300,000 as expense of maintaining livabl
e climate conditions for large numbers of people prove overwhelming. New Earth e
nforces local ban on all on-planet resource extraction and other industrial proc
esses to protect environment in anticipation of atmospheric formation, with the
lone exception being the "uncommon resource". New Earth and Earth form symbiotic
relationship as New Earth provides much needed resources for a depleted Earth a
nd Earth provides the necessary manufacturing capabilities and tech sector to ke
ep New Earth's complex pressure-sealed ecosystem functioning
2500 - Terraforming continues and thin atmosphere develops on Mars. Residents ap
proved for 1/2 hour of "Fresh Air" time per week. "Fresh Air" time expected to s
teadily increase over the coming generations.
2650 - Terraforming declared "functionally successful", residents approved for f
ull-time fresh air. Population swiftly balloons as pressure sealed environment i
s abandoned.
2660 - "Uncommon resource" so necessary for space travel discovered in Asteroid
Belt.
2665 - Earth govt establishes outpost on Europa (or equiv Saturn moon) to compet
e with New Earth interests in Asteroid Belt and establish pipeline of uncommon r
esource.
2670 - In protest of Earth's incursion into Asteroid Belt, New Earth places an e
mbargo on vital energy supplies to Earth. Earth declares the action illegal as N
ew Earth is an Earth colony subject to Earth law. Earth responds to the embargo
in kind, greatly reducing the shipment of vital petroleum products to the settle
ment.
2672 - New Earth, suffering under the strain of the embargo but unwilling to giv
e up its most important economy resource from the Asteroid Belt, declares indepe
ndence from Earth, adopting the old name for the planet Mars.
2674 - To entice Earth to drop its embargo, Martian interests adopt guerilla war
fare tactics in the newly-renamed Martian Belt on Earth "uncommon resource" deve
lopment centers.
2676 - Growing weary of the attacks and suffering greatly from resource depletio
n, Earth relents and both sides drop their embargoes.
2685 - Although tensions still exist between the two sides, Earth and Mars estab
lish normalized trade relations