The First Man on Mars: How the United Imperium Made History

“A Drop in the Bucket of Time, unto a River of Significance. The work of a nation, and the future of humanity: The Spirit of Mars”

-Astronaut Matthias Watney, the First Man on Mars

On the eighth of April, 2090, the world changed forever. On this date, the United Imperium became the first nation in history to successfully complete a manned mission to mars, unlocking yet another frontier for the rest of humanity to explore. The mission was the product of a decade’s worth of resilience, patriotism, grit, and national spirit. Untold scientific and technological innovations came from and will come from this incredible journey, but to fully understand its significance, we must return to the beginning.

The return to the moon was quite significant for the American people. But the United Imperium was but one of over 50 nations to set foot on the moon by the time a lunar landing became a reality. A tremendous national achievement, for sure, but something to be remembered by the whole world? Maybe not. And with a Presidential election on the horizon, who knew if the next President would follow in Lincoln’s footsteps? The future of the entire Imperium Space program seemed to hang in the balance.

In 2080, President Lincoln stepped down and President Roosevelt took power. To the relief of the Imperium’s space enthusiasts, Roosevelt announced that he did not intend to significantly hamper the United Imperium’s space program. Upon inauguration, Roosevelt confirmed that the Imperium Space Exploration Agency (ISEA) would be pursuing a Mars mission. Although between a series of costly foreign conflicts and two years of major rioting lasting into 2083, the program was largely hamstrung.

By the tail-end of 2083, economic and political mismanagement had left the United Imperium in shambles. In addition, the mass rioting of 2081 and 2082 had devastated the Imperium’s infrastructure grid. In a last-ditch effort to avoid defaulting on its debt (which at this point was almost equal to its GDP), Roosevelt considered canceling the Mars mission. With popular support for space travel waning, the end of the program was looking more certain by the day. 

But the program would live another day. Fraeland and Shwinnland, allies of the United Imperium and fellow members of The Fighting Pacifists, would supply the nation with funds to rebuild and rebalance its finances, as well as with economic advisors to help stabilize the nation. Not only did the Imperium escape defaulting on its debts, but it did so with the Mars Mission fully intact.

Pictured Above: Imperium Representatives in Talks with Economic Advisors and Leaders from Fraeland and Shwinnland

But a new timer was put on the clock-though unconfirmed, chatter indicated that several other nations were also pushing for a Mars mission. And despite finally having a recovering economy, it simply wouldn’t be enough. By most estimates, nations like Westerosi would have men on Mars by 2090. The United Imperium probably wouldn’t be able to have their mission ready until 2100. A new choice loomed ahead of the nation: settle for second best, or gamble a recovering economy on the fleeting chance at eternal glory. President Roosevelt addressed this in talks with Senate Leaders Rysander Regan and Betty Shostakovich:

“The fate of the nation rests, as it has with every great nation in history, on its ability to explore, innovate, and conquer. Only today, we do not conquer other nations or cultures, but instead that common enemy of all humanity: the great unknown. Senators, it is for this reason I believe that the prosperity and unchallenged sovereignty of the United Imperium rests on continued and consistent investment into the Mars Mission”

Though initially reluctant, the Legislature approved the spending plan, as well as a joint research plan with Jurvania. And so the race kicked off. Though the United Imperium was already going to be using a modified Executor rocket to transport its astronauts, there were several problems, chief among them being the arduous seven month trip to the Red Planet. In addition, supplying the astronauts on Mars would also guarantee to be a massive problem. 

By 2086, the mission, now going by the moniker Hephaestus, had solved the second problem. Pre-supply drones would have supplies waiting at the landing site for the astronauts to pick up and assemble to use. In addition, the development of state-of-the-art chemistry equipment would allow for astronauts to synthesize critical materials for experiments and sustenance directly from the Martian rocks as well as the polar ice caps (the mission’s landing site was going to be quite close to the Martian poles). These unique solutions helped greatly ease the logistics challenges that would have surely been faced by the astronauts. 

Pictured Above: SpaceXpeditions, an ISEA Subcontractor, launches a pre-supply mission to the Red Planet in the 2086 launch cycle

But how to solve the dilemma of spending seven months into space? There was no way that the Hephaestus mission was going to be able to carry the seven months’ worth of supplies that would be needed to sustain the astronauts en-route to Mars. At least, not on the rocket, anyway. But what if there was an alternative to keeping the astronauts on the rocket for seven months?

In order to build spy and telecommunications satellites, Shwinnland developed a space station, which sat in medium-earth orbit. The Shwinnland Space Station (SSS) effectively served as a FOB from which to maintain and repair satellites from. Shwinnland’s (and other spacefaring nations of TFP) astronauts regularly traveled for extended stays aboard the SSS, lasting for months at a time. So then the solution was a space station, which would take the transfer orbit between Earth and Mars, acting as a sort of ferry for the astronauts. Though, with rival nations rapidly advancing ahead on their own Mars missions, it was critical that Hephaestus build its own space ferry, and fast. In order to push through the project, Shwinnland and Jurvania both offered critical aid.

Pictured Above: Ferry Spacecraft Helios, built by The United Imperium, Shwinnland, and Jurvania in order to make Mars a reality.

By 2089, the space station that would ferry the astronauts through the transfer orbit, dubbed Helios, received its last parts in orbit, as the Imperium worked diligently to complete the project. Finally, with the Executor rocket on the launchpad, Helios ready to make the transition from Earth to Mars, and all the pre-supplies already on the Martian surface, the only thing left to do was select the astronauts. The three men chosen for the mission were Matthias Watney, Dr. Nat King Armstrong, and Calvin Hadfield. After 6 months of specialized training, the astronauts were ready, and in August, the Executor rocket took off to dock with Helios. 

After docking with Helios, the three astronauts came aboard and began their seven month stay in space. They would leave Helios and enter Mars orbit on the seventh of April, 2090. On the 8th of April, the Martian lander touched down on the surface, and the three astronauts, led by Matthias Watney, would begin preparations for their historic moment:

Mission Control (Roosevelt): Hab communications are online.

Hadfield: Roger, Roosevelt. We’ve got everything set up here, we are ready to begin our descent onto the  surface. 

Mission Control: Hephaestus, whenever you are ready. I should inform you that you will be making history. You will be the first men to ever set foot on another planet. Savor the moment. The United Imperium and the world stand with you tonight.

Armstrong: Will do, Roosevelt. We're going to have fun with this one.

Hadfield: We are beginning the descent onto the surface.

Watney: I’m climbing down the rungs now. Third rung… second rung… final rung… that’s the surface. Incredible moment. A drop in the Bucket of Time, unto a River of Significance. The work of a nation, and the future of humanity: The Spirit of Mars. What a view, what a moment. Incredible. Thanks, Roosevelt. It’s one of one.

Pictured above: Photograph Taken by Dr. Nat King Armstrong on the Martian Surface, Dubbed "Otherworldly Sunset" , April 8, 2090

At these words, cheers erupted all across the United Imperium and the world, as the Hephaestus mission put boots on Mars for the first time in history. Roosevelt’s gamble all those years ago had paid off in incredible fashion. 

For the next month, the astronauts will conduct experiments and collect data. In the last week of their stay, they will be joined by astronauts from Jurvania to collaborate in their scientific pursuits. Incredible amounts of scientific breakthroughs have already resulted from this mission, and the work of the astronauts of Hephaestus will do a tremendous job in increasing the knowledge of humanity about the cosmos and our own blue planet.

Perhaps that’s why this mission is so significant. This is not just a trip into the cosmos. Hephaestus represents the best of the American spirit, and the pinnacle of humanity. Forged in the fires of adversity, built from the ground up through ingenuity and perseverance, and now enriching humanity’s eternal desire for exploration and curiosity. This first mission to Mars marks the beginning of the history of the United Imperium and the world as an interplanetary people.