[Kiflin]

Utopia Planitia Starfleet Yards

Current Status - Active - Stardate 58370.2 - 16 May 2381 - 03:08

History
After the founding of the United Federation of Planets, Mars was quickly integrated. Utopia Planitia was chosen as the site of one of Starfleet's main shipyards, moving such installations away from San Francisco Fleet Yards over Earth. However, these remained active alongside it, albeit to a lesser degree, and this would become Mars' focus and primary association for many for the next few centuries. When one spoke of Mars, one spoke of Utopia Planitia. When one spoke of Utopia Planitia, one spoke of Mars. Almost its entire civilian sector was associated with this industry, but this is inaccurate.

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 springing up. Terraforming continued and the liquid water released in that process began to pool into crater lakes, while the cities continued to expand. These cities were established in circular formations, many, many miles across and visible from space, they were built onto the bones and infrastructure of the older domed cities, giving it a very unique look: the remnants of a Lunar Colony, despite the planet eventually being adjusted enough to be officially designated as 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 suited for cultivation, so the majority of the planet's surface is still barren. Generally, farmland is still within the borders of these city superstructures or underground.

Mars would continue to grow and engage in trade, with several spaceports opening on the planet, such as Olympus Mons, which also saw the location of quarries Resorts and, as a fun little fact, its peak at 21.9 kilometres was outside of the artificial gravity field generated to simulate Earth's 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 a university there. While many of these installations involve the primary occupation of Mars and Utopia Planitia, the construction of ships, it was also a popular tourist destination.

Many vessels were constructed here, such as the Galaxy class Project and USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D in 2363, the USS Defiant in 2366 and the USS Voyager in 2371. Naturally, this fame and dedication to the Federation made it a priority target for the Federation's 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's defensive perimeter, considering its initial line of defence was a single squadron of small ships. An automated perimeter of phaser satellites was installed and have remained in place since.

While not a founding member, it was instrumental in the development of the Federation, as well as a source of supply and trade to its member worlds, making Mars and its shipyards one of the most treasured planets at the core of the Federation.