Hello all! Ric here once more with a video on Sol IV, or Mars in Star Trek,
looking at its long history and important role within the fiction of that universe.
Terraforming Mars has been a dream since the earliest ideas of space exploration
from Earth and plans were constructed based on the premise of someday making this a reality.
Space agencies had long been sending probes to both perform flybys and landings on the Red
Planets to learn of it but as early as 2032, the first manned missions were undertaken. This was
8 years after the first successful manned mission to the Jovian moons of Europa and Io. Ares IV saw
a team of John Kelly, Rose Kumagawa and Andrei Novakovich of the International Space Agency land
two scientists on the surface of the planet to take crust samples while Kelly remained in orbit.
This mission would end in failure as a Graviton Ellipse emerged from subspace, then a completely
unknown realm, let alone phenomena and swallowed the Ares IV orbital module,
trapping Kelly and marooning the two scientists on the planet. They were able to survive the two
weeks it took a second ship to rescue them. Despite this, the desire to set foot on Mars
was not dimmed and here is where we need some further context and tidying up of the lore.
In 2063, Zephram Cochrane’s first flight of the Phoenix gained the attention of the passing Vulcan
ship, the T’plana Hath and following protocol, they introduced themselves to the pilot.
In the following years, Earth united under the banner of realising they were not alone
in the universe and the Vulcan’s assisted in the development of select technologies,
such as medicine and terraforming. The introduction of Vulcan knowledge brought
forwards estimates of the colonisation of Mars and some sources indicate that it was as soon
as 2069 that Utopia Planitia was founded. This conflicts with the initial colony dates of 2103,
cited by multiple other sources and the latter date seems more likely.
However there could be reasons for this such as 2069 being when the construction or automation
of certain structural fabrications began, and civilian life began to settle in earnest in 2103.
Either way its one of those Trek inconsistencies that state Utopia Planitia was founded in 2069,
while colonisation began in 2103 at Nova Ares in this same area.
What is certain, is that the initial colony sites were structural domes and that while
terraforming had begun, the surface of Mars was far from habitable. These domed cities had Earth
normal gravity, air and imported water as well as extracted ice from Mars itself while jaunts to the
surface still required environmental suites. While an atmosphere was forming, Ultraviolet light was
still an issue and the surface temperature was below tolerable levels for a Human.
The lure of Mars however attracted numerous settlers and other peoples that wanted to step
away from Earth for whatever reasons. Several of these included the descendents of Augments from
the Eugenics wars and those who wished to live outside of the United Earth government. In 2109,
this included several Native American Tribes who went on to found their own government and
organisations. However soon there was discourse on what exactly a Martian government should
look like, including notions of the level of involvement Earth should have in its growth.
This culminated in the brief Martian War of Independence. The conclusion of which saw the
drafting of the Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies. This was a pivotal document
that confirmed and provided the framework for future colonies of Earth and later the UFP.
It codified certain rights to individuality and governance and the relations that Earth
would have to her colony worlds a necessary political step for a growing interstellar power.
Over the next few year, air and atmosphere were established to a level enough that a human
could walk on the Martian surface for some time, but the global temperature
was still comparable to that of the arctic, and radiation exposure was still an issue.
By 2147, The Verteron Array was established on the planet’s surface in order to bring comets down
on the icecaps of Mars to aid in terraforming, creating more water vapour for the planet. This
was the subject of a hijacking by the Xenophoblic group Terra Firma when they relocated the Orpheus
Mining Complex of Luna to Mars in an attempt to attack Starfleet Headquarters in 2155.
On the surface, alongside the oldest settlement like Utopia Planitia which housed Mars City
Station, other domed cities emerged connected by tramlines and transportation framework. In time
one of these cities became the capital, Ares City and the government was the Confederation
of Martian Colonies which oversaw the Assembly, Council and Parliament of Mars.
While a staunch ally of Earth, it was not however a signing member of the Coalition
and in fact never would. During the Romulan War, they decided to refrain from joining
the coalition as Mars was in no state to defend itself lest it become a target by the Romulans.
After the founding of the United Federation of Planets however, Mars joined quickly and Utopia
Planitia was dedicated to be the major shipyard for the organisation, moving it away from San
Francisco Fleet Yards. This would become Mars’ focus and primary association for many for the
next few centuries, almost its entire civilian sector was associated with this industry. This
is not entirely accurate, in the same way most look at Earth as the Starfleet planet because
it’s where the Academy and Headquarters are located, Mars became the ship-building one.
In truth, Mars continued to develop as a planet in its own right, its population
growing to almost 133 million and a variety of locations sprang up. Terraforming continued,
and the liquid water began to pool into crater lakes and cities continued to expand. These
cities were established in circular formation, many many miles across and visible from space,
built onto the bones and infrastructure of the older domed cities, giving it a very
distinguishable look, remnant of Luna colony, despite the planet eventually being adjusted
enough to be officially designated a Class M planet and domed cities no longer being needed.
One thing that Mars continues to grapple with however is the fact that their soil
is not great for cultivation, so the majority of the planet’s surface is still barren rock.
Generally farmland is still within the borders of these city superstructures or underground.
Mars would continue to grow and engage in trade with several space ports opening on the planet
such as Olympus Mons which also saw the location of quarries, resorts and as fun little fact,
its peak at 21.9 kilometres, was outside of the artificial gravity field generated to
simulate earth gravity. Starfleet opened several offices on Mars and installations such as the
Technical Services Academy among others and the Daystrom Institute had a warp specialist Annex
and university there. As you can see, many of these installations do indeed involve the
primary occupation of Mars, ship construction, but it was also a popular tourist destination.
Many vessels were constructed here, such as the Galaxy class project and the Enterprise in 2363,
Defiant in 2366 and Voyager in 2371. Naturally this fame and dedication to the Federation made
it a priority target from Federation enemies, but located as it was within the Sol System,
it was seldom a target for attack. Nevertheless the Dominion War and Borg threats resulted in
the beefing up of Mars’ defensive perimeter considering its initial line of defence was
a single squadron of small ships. An automated perimeter of phaser
satellites was installed and would remain in place until 2385 when conspiracy struck.
The biggest project Mars had ever undertaken was helmed by Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and overseen
by Commander Geordie LaForge which saw the rapid construction of a fleet of Wallenberg
class evacuation ships all to assist in the Romulan relocation effort. This came with
several challenges and setbacks, documented and linked here (so feel free to peruse those two
videos if you are interested and thank you), but ultimately the effort was undermined by the Tal
Shiar. Or more specifically, a Zhat Vash internal cult to the Tal Shiar which turned the network on
Mars itself and also hacked into the automaton synthetics that made up the construction force.
That attack resulted in 92,143 killed and just as devastatingly, stratospheric vapours ignited
in the atmosphere as well as the bombardment of infrastructure. This resulted in the planet being
declared unfit for inhabitation even into 2399 due to the burning atmosphere still in places.
We do not know the fate of Mars on screen, although the likelihood is that the planet would
be recoverable and efforts made to restore it, as is the case in Star Trek Online. Not only is
it such an important location to the Federation, but it's also a historic site for Earth. While
not a founding member, it was instrumental in the development of UFP colonisation rights as well as
supply and trade to its member worlds making it one of the most treasured planets at the core of
the UFP. Mars pretty much got along with Earth in Star Trek and it was seen as an effort to get
terraforming and colonisation right, even as newer M class worlds were found such as Terra Nova.
Everything that made Mars habitable was artificial, from the gravity field that extended
a few miles above the surface, to the pumped out atmosphere. I do wonder how artificial gravity is
maintained and what powers it as this is also what keeps the atmosphere from dissipating.
It would be nice to see a greener Mars, but with the creation of replicators,
natural farmland becomes less of a priority. We seldom see anything outside of Utopia Planitia
because from a Starfleet point of view, that is the most important thing on the Red Planet.
Thanks for watching this breakdown on Marsipan… I mean Mars, I’ve been Ric and
I’ll see you later for another lore video so until that one, thanks once more and goodbye!