"Mars is a planet that we know a lot about in theory. We've studied it meticulously. We've scoured it with satellites and probes. We even got this little guy down onto the surface, as well as a whole host of his brothers and sisters. But here's the thing. There's a difference between seeing something from a couple hundred thousand miles, and being there on the ground. We need people, any people, with the drive and the determination to get down onto the surface of our closest neighbour in space, and map it out." ~ James Moyer, Director of the Global Space Directive, 1986
The year is 1988. World War 1, the last war mankind ever experienced, ended seventy years ago to the day. Since then, mankind came together. No more would the US be isolationist, ideologies fight other ideologies. The Global Government Initiative was founded in 1921, and since then, mankind has blasted off scientifically. In 1941, we found that no longer were we bound to the small ball we had been cradled in for millenia, the Italian made, Russian-launched Sputnik I taking off, shortly followed by the three first men in space: Yosef Petrovich, Alan Jameston and Desta Abera.
1954 marked the Global Space Directive planting their flag on the Moon, with Astronaut Xi Lian being the first man to step foot onto the sattelite.
Since then, progress has been stymied. Whilst there are permanent residences on the Moon, breaching through onto Mars has proved tricky. The first man to land onto the red planet, Jonathan Jones, touched down April 1962. 1969 was the worst ever aeronautical accident to date, with fifteen astronauts dying when a ship en-route to Mars had an electrical malfunction, causing the entire crew to suffocate.
1975 however, was critical. Thirty astronauts, including five women, touched down on August 18th. They established a 'base camp,' however due to two crucial supply rockets failing to arrive, (one detonating on the launchpad, the other missing Mars thanks to a gyroscopic failure,) they were forced to leave the planet. By December, they had returned, and the first permanent residence on another planet was founded- Camp Enyo.
Now, just like the moon, a recruitment drive is on. The GSD needs manpower, and Earth must oblige- for it is Mars, then the solar system!
