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Green-Mammadov Social Studies
==========================

Chapter 19: Early Interstellar Colonization
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Faster than light travel, the long dreamed-of miracle of physics and engineering was realized in 2061 with the launch of the Prometheus, the first probe fitted with a White-Alcubierre drive. The technology had been discovered just before the outbreak of the War of 2051, at NASA Ames Research Center. After the war, NASA began applying new techniques in Quantum navigation developed during the war to guide a potential ship to another solar system. In 2057, Congress approved funding for the Prometheus. Its 2061 launch gave humans the first close-up look at a the Alpha Centauri system, discovering a small water covered world around Alpha Centauri B. The planet displayed little signs of life beyond the microbial, furthering the theory that Oxygen really is a universal demand for complex biological systems. Further exploration by the Enterprise in 2063 revealed a world that would be relatively easy to terraform, requiring no injection of heat or foreign elements to jumpstart the planet's habitability.

The planet that would be known as Atlantis, had an atmosphere rich in Nitrogen, Argon, and CO2, and an very acidic ocean. Terraforming would not begin until the late 2070s, and would be limited by the constraints of warp field volumes which limited large ships to take much slower sub-luminal journeys to and from the Solar system to Atlantis. O'Neil ships were built to hold ecosystems that could develop on the long journey to Atlantis, depositing blooms of genetically modified microbes, plants and eventually animals. The effort to colonize Atlantis has been hindered by the lack of demand for such a world. By the 2080s, Mars was taking in the bulk of colonists from Earth, leaving Atlantis to only a small population of fortune seeking pioneers. As of 2140 only about half a million residents, mostly from Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico reside on the planet. Terraforming is set to be completed by 2160, but even with the delivery of colonists via the massive O'Neil ship Hydra, it is unlikely that Atlantis's population will rise above a few million residents for many decades.

Description
Green-Mammadov Social Studies
==========================

Chapter 19: Early Interstellar Colonization
---------------------------------------------------

Faster than light travel, the long dreamed-of miracle of physics and engineering was realized in 2061 with the launch of the Prometheus, the first probe fitted with a White-Alcubierre drive. The technology had been discovered just before the outbreak of the War of 2051, at NASA Ames Research Center. After the war, NASA began applying new techniques in Quantum navigation developed during the war to guide a potential ship to another solar system. In 2057, Congress approved funding for the Prometheus. Its 2061 launch gave humans the first close-up look at a the Alpha Centauri system, discovering a small water covered world around Alpha Centauri B. The planet displayed little signs of life beyond the microbial, furthering the theory that Oxygen really is a universal demand for complex biological systems. Further exploration by the Enterprise in 2063 revealed a world that would be relatively easy to terraform, requiring no injection of heat or foreign elements to jumpstart the planet's habitability.

The planet that would be known as Atlantis, had an atmosphere rich in Nitrogen, Argon, and CO2, and an very acidic ocean. Terraforming would not begin until the late 2070s, and would be limited by the constraints of warp field volumes which limited large ships to take much slower sub-luminal journeys to and from the Solar system to Atlantis. O'Neil ships were built to hold ecosystems that could develop on the long journey to Atlantis, depositing blooms of genetically modified microbes, plants and eventually animals. The effort to colonize Atlantis has been hindered by the lack of demand for such a world. By the 2080s, Mars was taking in the bulk of colonists from Earth, leaving Atlantis to only a small population of fortune seeking pioneers. As of 2140 only about half a million residents, mostly from Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico reside on the planet. Terraforming is set to be completed by 2160, but even with the delivery of colonists via the massive O'Neil ship Hydra, it is unlikely that Atlantis's population will rise above a few million residents for many decades.