Mars¶

Mars in 2375 is on the verge of transformation. After centuries as a destination for robotic exploration and a handful of small research outposts, the planet is suddenly at the center of a colonial land rush. The UEF, Luna, and various corporate interests are jockeying over charter rights and territorial claims, and the University of Mare Serenitatis has positioned itself at the forefront with both Phobos Station and the Carl Sagan's archaeological survey.

Phobos Station¶

Phobos Station represents Luna's first major claim on a non-Lunar celestial body of significance. Officially a University of Mare Serenitatis research installation, everyone understands the political implications: Luna is staking territory.

The Station¶

The station is new and still developing — functional and well-equipped, but missing the lived-in character of older installations. The university prioritized labs and research facilities; social infrastructure came second.

What's There: - Modern habitat modules, comfortable but not luxurious - Excellent laboratory and research facilities - Strong communications array (relay point for Mars surface operations) - Docking capacity for several ships - Basic amenities: cafeteria, rec room, medical bay

What's Missing: - Social spaces with character — no bar, no gathering spots that feel like places - Established traditions, in-jokes, local culture - Some sections still under construction or not yet fitted out - The station has more capacity than current population

The Feel: - The smell of new construction and outgassing - Everything works, but nothing has history yet - Sparse population; you notice new faces - A sense of potential — this place will matter soon, but doesn't quite yet

Political Observers¶

The UEF and major corporations maintain representatives at Phobos Station. These are diplomatic missions in all but name — they have no authority over station operations, but everyone knows they're reporting back to their principals.

The observers are unfailingly polite, professionally curious, and exhausting to manage. They attend briefings, request data access, and ask questions that are never quite inappropriate but always feel like probing. Their presence is a constant reminder that Mars is contested territory.

Dr. Yenni¶

Role: Station Commander, Phobos Station

A respected atmospheric scientist who made the mistake of being good at organizing conference panels. When Mare Serenitatis needed someone to oversee the Phobos branch setup, her name came up as "reliable, gets things done, well-liked." Nobody asked if she wanted to be an administrator. Formally, she's "Yenni of Okinawa Warren," but only the UEF observers use the full form.

Yenni is a Specter with a committed avian build from her younger, more socially active days. Dark iridescent feathers replace her hair entirely, with matching plumage along her forearms that catches the light in shifting greens and purples. Her nose has been restructured into something not quite a beak, but close — giving her face a sharp, striking profile. Her eyes are larger than baseline, alert and quick-tracking, and her voice has a distinctive timbre from vocal modifications. She moves with occasional birdlike head-tilts when listening, a behavioral drift she stopped trying to suppress years ago.

She sometimes wonders if the corporate observers take her less seriously because of her appearance. They're scrupulously polite about it, which somehow makes it worse.

The Reality:

Competent at science, drowning in logistics
Every day brings problems she wasn't trained for: life support maintenance schedules, docking priority disputes, requisition forms, personnel conflicts
"I'm a scientist, not a bureaucrat!" / "What do I know about closed-loop water cycles?!"
The political observers are exhausting; she has no idea what they're reporting
Hasn't done actual research in months; her own projects gather dust

At the Table:

Frazzled, coffee-dependent, prone to venting to anyone who seems sympathetic
Genuinely warm when she has a moment to breathe
Will absolutely lean on the Sagan crew for help with things outside her expertise
Potential ally if the PCs treat her like a person rather than an obstacle
Immediate connection point with Kai given her Specter background

Instinct: When overwhelmed, retreat to something she can control (recalibrating instruments, reviewing data, small technical tasks)

Surface Presence¶

Mars has been explored robotically for over four centuries. The surface is littered with the detritus of that history.

Robotic Infrastructure¶

Generations of rovers, landers, and automated systems dot the Martian landscape:

Most are long-dead, preserved by the thin atmosphere and cold
Some newer systems remain operational: weather stations, communication relays, sample caches
Historic sites are technically protected, though enforcement is theoretical
The Perseverance rover (landed 2021) is a registered historical landmark

Research Outposts¶

One or two small crewed installations exist, staffed by skeleton crews:

Limited budget, limited scope — dead-end postings for the very dedicated or the unlucky
These scientists have toiled in obscurity for years; now Mars is suddenly important
Their futures are uncertain: absorbed into colonial efforts? Shut down? Elevated?
They know the terrain, have opinions about Leonidas's claims, and are watching their quiet domain become a political battleground

Jezero Crater¶

The Carl Sagan's primary destination is Jezero Crater, an ancient river delta that has drawn scientific interest for centuries.

Why Jezero¶

The 2024 Discovery: The Perseverance rover found biosignatures in Jezero's sediments — possible evidence of ancient microbial life. The findings were celebrated, debated, and eventually filed as "interesting but inconclusive." Scientific consensus settled on "possible but unconfirmed."

The Expansion Era Finding: A later mission (mid-2100s) recovered metallic samples with anomalous compositions — isotope ratios that matched neither Martian geology nor Earth contamination. The data was published, debated, and ultimately dismissed as instrument error. The scientists moved on; the archives gathered dust.

Colonial Assessment¶

Jezero is also being evaluated as a potential colony site. The ancient river delta offers:

Water accessibility: Subsurface ice deposits, potentially tappable
Terrain: Flat areas suitable for dome construction, stable geology
Artificial waterways: The crater's natural drainage patterns could be leveraged; ancient river channels might be re-excavated under domes
Resources: Regolith composition suitable for construction materials; atmospheric processing viable for oxygen and fuel production

The poetry of it: they're evaluating whether to build a colony on top of what might be evidence of someone else's colony. Leonidas has opinions about this.

The Martian Environment¶

Light and Sky¶

Sunlight 40% as intense as Earth, but sharp — no atmospheric scattering softens it
Shadows are absolute black; step out of the sun and temperature plummets
Dawn and dusk paint the dust pink, orange, butterscotch
The sky is salmon-pink by day, deep blue near the sun at sunset
At night, stars don't twinkle — steady points, more stars than any Earth sky
Phobos crosses the sky in about four hours, rising in the west

Dust¶

Fine as talcum powder, clings to everything, works into seals
Oxidized iron — literally rust. Smells metallic if it gets inside
Dust devils appear without warning, red columns spinning across the plain
After a storm, everything is coated; rovers look like they're rusting in real-time
Perchlorates in the dust are mildly toxic — decontamination protocols matter

Sound and Silence¶

Atmosphere too thin to carry sound well; everything feels muffled outside
Inside the suit: your own breathing, your heartbeat, the hum of life support
Wind registers as pressure, not sound
Radio chatter becomes a lifeline — the only voices in the world

Scale¶

Horizon closer than Earth (smaller planet), but the landscape feels bigger
Olympus Mons visible from enormous distances, a wall on the horizon
The Jezero crater rim is a constant presence, ancient walls circling the delta
You can see the curvature of the planet from high ground

Cold¶

Average temperature -60°C; drops to -100°C at night
Suits handle it, but you know the cold is there, waiting
Breath fogs inside the helmet if climate control hiccups
Metal left outside becomes dangerous to touch, even through gloves

Mission Operations¶

The Shuttle¶

The Carl Sagan carries a Lambda-class shuttle for surface-to-orbit operations. The shuttle seats six to eight with cargo space, and serves as the primary transport between ship, station, and surface.

Transit Patterns¶

Standard operations involve the Sagan remaining in Mars orbit (or docked at Phobos) while the shuttle runs between ship, station, and surface base. This creates a triangle of locations, each with different character:

The Sagan: Home, but transient — they can leave anytime
Phobos Station: New but finished — institutional, political observers, Dr. Yenni
Surface Base: New and raw — improvised, growing, intimate

Which location the crew gravitates toward as their primary hub will shape their relationship with Mars and the mission.

Ground Base¶

Setting up a surface base in 2375:

Initial Setup (Week 1-2):

Pre-fab habitat modules shipped from Phobos or the Sagan
Inflatable pressure domes with rigid internal structure
Regolith piled over domes for radiation shielding
Power: compact fusion reactor or solar array with battery backup
Life support: closed-loop air and water recycling

Expansion (Weeks 3+):

Additional modules connected via pressurized tunnels
Dedicated lab space, equipment storage, vehicle garage
Local resource processing (water from ice, oxygen from regolith)
The base grows organically based on mission needs

The Feel:

Functional, not comfortable — a field camp, not a colony
Constant hum of life support systems
Dust in the airlock, no matter how careful
Recycled air, hydroponics, too many people in close quarters
Windows looking out at rust-red landscape and ancient crater walls

UMS Carl Sagan — the ship and crew
Luna — Lunar society and the university's political context
Technology — spacecraft, habitats, and life support systems
Timeline — Mars colonization in historical context