The year is 2029. The place: Boca Chica, Texas.
At an exclusive launch station, two towering, unmanned rockets called Starships prepare for a six-month journey into space.
Their destination?
The cold barren surface of Mars.
Day One — Two Starships, packed with more than 100 metric tons of cargo, spew fire and smoke as they launch into Earth orbit and begin their journey to the red planet.
About every twenty-six months, Earth and Mars make a close approach, creating an optimal window for faster and more efficient interplanetary travel.
For months, the Starships soar through the blackness of space, chasing Mars as it orbits around the Sun.
Day 200 — After about six months of space travel, the Starships enter Mars orbit and prepare to land in the lowlands of the Arcadia Planitia, chosen for its desirable latitude and elevation.
Throughout this dusty region, ridges and grooves suggest an abundance of underground water ice, shallow enough for human extraction.
Around these icy deposits, the two Starships sink their landing gear into Martian soil, forming the foundation of the first human settlement.
