Ad Astra (Scenario)

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A future history of human civilisation. WIP

Main Timeline

21st Century

2024

• Joe Biden wins the 2024 presidential elections by a slim majority. The Republicans win control over the Senate and the House of Representatives, resulting in a split government.

2025

• The Labour Party comes to power in the UK with a slim majority in the House of Commons.

2026

• The Scottish Labour Party manages to achieve a plurality of seats in the Scottish elections. They form a coalition government with the Liberal Party, with the Conservative Party agreeing to provide confidence and supply.

2027

• In an unexpected turn of events, Donald Trump dies of a heart attack. The Republican Party is thrown into turmoil.

2028

• Republican Nikki Haley secures the Republican nomination for president, defeating Ron DeSantis. This is widely seen as a killing blow to isolationism within the Republican Party. Nikki Haley goes on to win the United States presidential election, becoming the first female POTUS and first Indian American POTUS in American history.

2030

• SpaceX establishes its first Martian base consisting of 7 personnel. More personnel and equipment are to follow. This is a world first, marking the first time a private company has successfully beat a national government in the space race.
• Amidst worsening tensions with China and increased Chinese "naval exercises" in the Taiwan Strait, the POTUS Nikki Haley makes the controversial move of confirming America's intention to assist Taiwan in defending its sovereignty and freedom.

2031

• In what outsider observers call a palace coup, ageing Supreme Leader of China Xi Jinping is removed from office by a vote of the CCP Politburo.

2032

• A week before the United States elections, China launches a sudden, crippling cyberattack on US government servers, systems, and communications, as well as a cyberattack on US civil infrastructure. The cyberattacks cause pandemonium and confusion, especially at the height of the country's election season, when its leaders are most distracted by political bickering and its population most polarised. Simultaneously, cyberattacks are launched on systems all throughout Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. China begins its invasion of Taiwan.
• Republican Nikki Halley is re-elected as POTUS in a landslide following her response to the Chinese attack on the United States and its invasion of Taiwan. America enters into a war footing.

2036

• The United States of America creates the Federal Space Authority (FSA), an agency dedicated to regulating and facilitating private sector and commercial space endeavours, including off-world mining.
• NASA establishes the first permanent Martian base with personnel rotations occurring every 2 years.

2045

• As widespread civil unrest in the Arab world turns to civil war, Western troops in the region are called back home though some are diverted to protect embassies from the rapidly escalating violence. The price of oil and gas quadruples due to sharp drops in oil exports from the Arab world.
• The European Space Agency begins construction of an orbital space station. The European Space Board (ESB) is created to regulate and facilitate private and commercial space travel, following in the footsteps of America's Federal Space Authority.
• Following a significant boost in funding, NASA begins construction of an American spaceport which would allow for spaceships to be constructed and launched from space, potentially significantly reducing the cost of interplanetary travel.

2046

• Casualties in the Pan-Arab Revolution surpass 30,000. British troops see some action in Egypt and Arabia as part of an evacuation of tourists and foreign businesspeople.
• NASA constructs its first permanent lunar base.
• The Saudi Ministry of Energy headquarters is seized by anti-government rebels. They reveal that the previous government had been lying about its oil reserves for over a decade and that the country has less than 60% of the reserves that it claimed.
• Global oil and gas prices rise by over 400%, causing numerous nations around the world to declare national emergencies, and for oil-producing nations to begin hoarding oil. Global investment in nuclear energy as the quickest way to rapidly increase alternative sources of energy production rises by 2000%. Electric vehicles are heavily subsidised almost everywhere and some nations order their national car companies to devote more resources to producing affordable electric vehicles. Public transportation becomes significantly more important in cities across the globe as people cannot afford to run their cars. India, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States are all leading innovators in the field of nuclear power, with some focusing on Thorium-based power (India, Australia, USA, UK) and others focusing on Uranium-based power (USA, France, Australia).

2047

• Days after the unpopular Supreme Leader of China dies in his sleep, the Three Gorges Damn bursts, flooding hundreds of cities and towns downstream. The wave of water and ensuing flooding kills 3 million people within hours, and makes a further 300 million people homeless overnight. Within months, millions more die from starvation as one of China's breadbaskets, the Yangtze River Delta is too inundated to be farmed. Asian stock markets crash and China's economy is projected to fall by 16%. The world's largest ongoing humanitarian disaster ensues.
• Towards the end of the year, the Pan-Arab Revolution comes to a close in North Africa and Southern Arabia with democratic governments installed. War continues in Saudi Arabia as the House of Saud refuses to surrender.
• The independent city-state of Jerusalem is established. The Israelis and Palestinians reconcile.
• The ESA launches its first permanent lunar base not far from America's base.

2048

• The Chinese government attempts to cover up the true cause of the Three Gorges Damn (TGD) collapse and continues to mishandle the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Despite shut downs of large portions of China's internet service, photographs and video emerges showing Chinese troops firing on civilians protesting the killing of a number of locals caught stealing to support their homeless families. Further photo and video evidence shows this to be a widespread phenomena as 300 million internally displaced Chinese citizens become more desperate by the day as the CCP fails to adequately feed its population with a quarter of its food producing land gone and 300 million new mouths unable to feed themselves. The UN passes a resolution condemning the lack of transparency, brutality, and ineptitude of the Chinese government.
• By the end of the year, widespread civil unrest spreads across China, led particularly by pro-democracy students. Many claim the CCP has '"lost the mandate of heaven" and should relinquish power.

2049

• The latest leader of China is assassinated by a WIP

2050

• The European Space Agency constructs its first Martian base.

2061

• SpaceX's Martian colony (called "Sands of Mars") expands to over 100 people. As regular Starship launches begin, the Sands of Mars looks to be the largest off-world human colony.

2069

• Fusion power plants become a mainstream source of energy. Preliminary research is already being conducted by major world powers into fusion-powered space craft. The Nuclear Research Treaty (NRT) of 2067 paves the way for research and usage of non-weapon nuclear power in space. The treaty does not ban military applications of nuclear research, only nuclear weaponry is prohibited.

2070

• The British Bullion Company goes public and hits its $6bn goal in capital raised within a year.

2071

• The British Bullion Company completes pre-launch production and launches its first 4-year-long semi-automated asteroid mining mission with a crew of 15 personnel. This marks the beginning of the Asteroid Rush, with dozens of new companies across the globe following suit.

2073

• NASA expands its permanent lunar base to accommodate up to 100 personnel at a given time. This results in many international partnerships between NASA and other space agencies as NASA's Martian base (named Red Horizons) pays host to many scientists from other nations. Many new scientific apparatus are also constructed.
• British company

2074

• With the aid of America's lunar base, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) construct their own permanent lunar base.

2075

• China, India, and Russia construct their own permanent lunar bases.

2078

• SpaceX's Sands of Mars reaches a population of 3,000 people, all private individuals employed by SpaceX or families of SpaceX employees.

2079

• A joint intergovernmental mission between Latin American countries - under the umbrella of the 10 year old Latin American Space Command (LASC) - constructs a permanent lunar base.
• The Joint Arab Space Administration (JASA) constructs its first independent space station.

2082

• The ESA expands its Martian base.

2083

• The United Nations Outer Space Treaty is repealed and replaced with the Space Exploration Treaty, allowing for national claims of extra-terrestrial territory, registered with the United Nations Space Office.

2085

• China constructs its first Martian base.
• The nations of ASEAN construct their first joint space station under the control of the South East Asian Space Agency (SEASA).

2086

• Russia, South America, Mexico, and India construct their first manned Martian bases.

2097

• The JASA constructs its first manned lunar base. The same year it follows with the completion of its first Martian base.

22nd Century

2100

• As the new century is celebrated across the globe, various governmental and non-governmental colonies on the Moon and Mars report progress in the construction of underground habitats, water-processing facilities and greenhouses. Almost all government colonies tend to be scientific, aiming to expand humanity's knowledge with regards to extra-terrestrial colonization; each nation aiming to out-do others.

2120

• A multitude of orbital stations, lunar bases, and Martian bases are operated by a variety of governmental and intergovernmental initiatives from around the world. The African Union Space Command (AUSC), the space agency of the increasingly united African Union, operates an ambitious space station aiming to be the world's first fully-fledged space shipyard. The total off-world population has grown to 110,000.

2135

• Over 20 orbiting space shipyards are now in operation as polities and corporations from around the world race to build spacecraft for colonization and resource transport. The first Martian towns have been established.

2150

• A massive wave of immigration to the moon occurs as sustainable lunar living is achieved. This is accompanied by breakthroughs in bioscience with the successful introduction of low-gravity crops, as well as the development of 3D printed housing. The rush to the Moon is spurred on by the widespread popularity of space-themed films and tv shows romanticising lunar and space life, not unlike that of the Old West of America.
• While laws vary from territory to territory, most European, North American, and ASEAN colonies require citizens to maintain robust muscle mass via mandatory exercise.

2195

• A breakthrough in space propulsion is made with the invention of the nuclear fusion drive, allowing for Helium-3 to be used as a far more efficient source of fuel for spacecraft. This cuts travel time to Mars down to 14 weeks and significantly boosts demand for Helium-3 mined on the Moon.

23rd Century

2200

• At the dawn of the new century the population of the Moon reaches 5 million and the population of Mars reaches 1.5 million.

2210

• The first manned expedition to Europa is conducted by a joint British-Canadian-Australian-American mission.

2227

• The British Malapert Colony is renamed British Malapert. The territory's 490,000 people are granted control over most domestic affairs. Responsible government is introduced in addition to the continuance of British parliamentary representation of the lunar colony.
• The British colony of Tahara similarly achieves responsible government for its 230,000 people.

2264

• The National Crime Service (NCS) is established by the British government with jurisdiction across all British territories and colonies. It is tasked primarily with the policing of interplanetary organised crime.

2267

• The construction of a permanent colony on Ganymede by India followed by the founding of the first Europan city by Anglo-American colonists sparks a race to colonise the moons and orbits of Jupiter and Saturn.

2289

• The Dominion of Malapert (population ~ 1.6 million) and the Dominion of Tahara (population ~ 1.9 million) are proclaimed, and are each granted home rule over domestic affairs.

24th Century

2300

• As the new year is celebrated across the solar system, the population of the Moon reaches 70 million and the population of Mars reaches 31 million. The combined population of other off-world territories, including those living in asteroid habitats, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and on Singanyata (Ceres) reaches 13 million, though a lot of it is highly transient and dependant on mining seasons. The population of Earth continues to fall ever so slowly from a population peak of 10 billion, even as the off-world population increases at astonishing rates.

2304

• The Titan Science & Research Treaty (TSRT) is signed by nearly all members of the United Nations, restricting the use of Saturn's moon Titan for scientific and research purposes, placing it off-limits to national or private colonisation.

2321

• Advances in zero-G agriculture and general automation cause the cost of living in orbital habitats and outer planet moons to plummet, resulting in another large wave of people migrating into space.

2335

• The International Bank of Jupiter is established by the Jovian Monetary Treaty, signed and ratified by 7 Jovian nation-states to establish a shared Jovian currency known as the Ducat (Ð).

2357

• The Dominion of Tahara is granted independence as the Commonwealth of Tahara with a population of 5 million. Tahara becomes a Commonwealth Realm with the monarch of the United Kingdom as head of state, but acting in a separate capacity as monarch of Tahara. The Dominion of Malapert achieves full self-government, including over foreign policy, but does not fully sever ties with the United Kingdom, continuing to overarching authority.

2393

• The Ganymedean nation of Gangaraj begins a highly controversial programme known as Project Garuda. Through psychoconditioning and mental restructuring, Gangarajian scientists aim to produce individuals that crave solitude and isolation from society. This is to produce individuals capable of withstanding the years of intense solitude that will comes with harvesting the abundant ice and frozen gasses of the Kuiper Belt. Gangaraj aims to be at the forefront of the as yet non-existent industry. Additionally, the individuals produced by Project Garuda are posted to various other occupations including intelligence gathering and resource harvesting duties that involve long periods of solitude. The perceived unethicality of the project garners widespread criticism from other nations in the solar system, causing Gangaraj to be further isolated from the world stage resulting in increased nationalistic sentiments.

25th Century

2400

• As a new century dawns, the population of the Moon reaches 117 million, the population of Mars reaches 352 million, and the total off-world population (excluding the Lunar population and including Ceres and other asteroids) is 195 million.

Nations, Corporations & Other Organisations

Nations

• Commonwealth of Tahara
• Singanyata

Other Organisations

• International Bank of Jupiter