'Starfield' Releases The Game Universe's Timeline, Says We'll Get To Mars In 27 Years
A lot is riding on the release of the upcoming Bethesda RPG Starfield. Many industry analysts feel the game is a sort of make-or-break for Microsoft, especially after the utter failure that was Redfall. With their aggressive acquisition moves over the last few years, like the currently pending acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, many within the industry are pointing out the lack of blockbuster releases for the gaming giant during the current generation. This is especially when their biggest rival Sony has several.
Microsoft has thrown all its support behind Starfield, and as part of the marketing for the impending release, they recently released a canonical timeline to establish the backstory for where players will take over the story. According to this timeline, humanity lands people on Mars by 2050.
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It’s no secret that it’s an ambition of both governments and the uberwealthy to get to the fourth planet from the Sun and kick off a new era in space exploration. As is often the case with those like Elon Musk, they have lofty hopes, like getting to Mars by 2029 or 2030. NASA, on the other hand, seems to have a closer goal to that set by Starfield, with plans to land humans on Mars by 2040.
While science fiction often gives glimpses of possible futures, like landing on Mars by 2050, economic and technical realities may accelerate or delay those imagined achievements. Landing on Mars is no small feat. It took the Curiosity rover eight months and 10 days to get to Mars. Doesn’t seem that bad, except when you remember that it’s a machine and humans need to eat and drink. Packing food and water for an eight-month journey, and beyond if they plan to stay for an extended time, requires spacecraft far larger than what humans have thus far launched. Mars also has higher gravity than the Moon, so getting back off the planet won’t be as easy.
Needless to say, getting to Mars is a worthwhile goal, but it’s going to take a lot of work by people a lot smarter than me. In the meantime, Starfield comes out September 6, or September 1 for those who shell out the cash for the premium edition, exclusively for Xbox.
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