THE UNIVERSAL CENTURY BEGAN WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF COLONIES

A Chronicle of Colony Development in the Universal Century:
The Colony of Moon Moon Dates Back to the Dawn of the Universal Century

THE 50-YEAR ERA OF COLONY CONSTRUCTION

U.C.0001
　The transition to the Universal Century is marked by the commencement of space immigration. Earth’s total population exceeds 9 billion.
　Laplace Incident: The space station “Laplace” is destroyed in an act of terrorism during the calendar change ceremony.
* Side 1 is constructed at L5, followed by Side 2 at L4.
One of the Island One-type colonies used for Side construction becomes Moon Moon.

U.C.0010
　Jupiter Energy Fleet is reorganized as the Jupiter Development Enterprise Group.

U.C.0016
　The Earth Federation Government establishes the Frontier Development and Immigration Transport Bureau.

U.C.0018
　The 1 millionth Spacenoid is born at Side 2.

U.C.0027
　The first permanent lunar city, Von Braun City, is completed.

U.C.0030
　The Earth Federation government privatizes the Frontier Development and Immigration Transport Bureau and becomes the Space Transport Enterprise Group.

U.C.0034
　The Earth Federation government reorganizes the Space Transport Enterprice Group is reorganized as the Public Corporation of Space Transport.

U.C.0035
　Construction of Side 3 begins.

U.C.0040
　Approximately 40% of the human population has emigrated to space.

U.C.0040s~
　* Construction begins on Side 4 at L5, followed by Side 5 at L1.

U.C.0045
　The asteroid Juno (Luna II) becomes stationary in lunar orbit.
* Migration to Side 1 and Side 2 is completed.

U.C.0050
　* The total population reaches 11 billion, with 9 billion people having migrated to space.

THE TREND OF SPACE MIGRATION = POLICY OF ABANDONMENT

U.C.0051
　The Earth Federation government announces a freeze on new colony development plans.

U.C.0052
　* Settlement up to Side 6 is completed.

U.C.0058
　Zeon Zum Deikun proclaims the independence of Side 3, establishing the Republic of Zeon.

U.C.0059
　The Earth Federation government imposes economic sanctions on Side 3.

U.C.0067
　* The Earth Federation government rejects the Colony Autonomy Bill.
* Announcement of the Side 7 construction plan.

U.C.0069.08.15
　Declaration of the Principality of Zeon. Degwin Sodo Zabi becomes Sovereign.

U.C.0070.12
　For the construction of Side 7, Luna II is moved to the opposite side of the lunar orbit.

U.C.0078.02
　Frequent transport accidents between colonies.

U.C.0078.04
　The Federation Forces increase their garrison troops in each colony.

U.C.0078.05
　Although incomplete, immigration begins to the first colony of Side 7.

SOLAR POWER SATELLITE “HIGHLAND”: A power generation satellite that transmits solar energy to Earth. Although all artificial satellites were destroyed during the One Year War, they were restored after the war.

SPACE STATION “LAPLACE”: A space facility in geostationary orbit. It housed the Prime Minister’s official residence of the Earth Federation government, and a calendar change ceremony was conducted there in the inaugural year of the Universal Century.

LUNAR CITY “VON BRAUN”: Evolved from a resource extraction base, it supported colony construction using a mass driver.

ASTEROID BASE “LUNA II”: Formerly known as Juno. It was carved out for colony construction and transformed into a space fortress for the Earth Federation.

ISLAND ONE-TYPE COLONY “MOON MOON”: An old spherical colony that served as a foundation for the construction of Side 1. It has a capacity of around 10,000 inhabitants.

ISLAND THREE-TYPE COLONY “SHANGRI-LA”: Side 1’s Colony 1. This new cylindrical colony is home to 36 million people.

A united effort by the citizens of the Earth Federation propelled space colonization. But did they glimpse the frontier they were reaching for?

To understand the uniqueness of Moon Moon, the setting for Moon Gundam, let’s start by explaining the origins of colonies in the Universal Century.

At the end of the previous century, Earth was divided into around 200 countries, and after going through the era of the East-West Cold War, it teetered on the brink of a final war. However, humanity overcame this crisis and established the Earth Federation government. Space development was promoted to address population growth, food issues, and environmental concerns.

Particularly regarding environmental issues, the depletion of petroleum energy, global warming, and abnormal weather leading to Earth’s desertification posed significant challenges. As a solution, a project was initiated to relocate the Federation’s population, which had reached 10 billion, to space.

The Era of Space Resorts

Space development, ongoing since the end of the previous century, became a point of interest for some of the affluent, with artificial satellites, space stations, and space hotels constructed in geostationary orbit (altitude of 35,786 km above the equator). However, artificial satellites were primarily unmanned, and space stations and hotels started with capacities of around three to six people. The dawn of artificial satellites and space stations, coupled with the trend of space resorts, led humanity towards new hope.

The Helium-3 Rush Era

In the previous century, reliance on nuclear reactors for atomic energy was the solution to the depletion of oil resources. However, the establishment of clean atomic energy technology through next-generation nuclear fusion reactors gave a boost to space development. The Federation government constructed observatories and mining bases on the moon for helium-3 mining. Simultaneously, lunar minerals were excavated, and numerous lunar bases developed into lunar cities as part of space development.

Further, seeking more substantial amounts of helium-3, fleets were dispatched to traverse between planets to Jupiter, the future Jupiter Fleet.

On the way to Jupiter, the asteroid belt posed a challenge, but it also provided the raw materials such as soil and water necessary for developing large-scale residential space colonies. By attaching nuclear pulse engines, asteroids were transported into Earth’s orbit.

The Era of Lagrange Development

The foundation to sustain 10 billion citizens in space was laid. L5 and L4 points were marked with the establishment of L5 Junction and L4 Junction. Numerous provisional colonies, the Island One-type space colonies, were constructed, forming Sides, with about 40 Island Three-type space colonies built for each Side. Then, resettlement began at Side 1 and Side 2, marking the dawn of the Universal Century.

In this context, the societal background of the Universal Century, in which the nature-reverting Moon Moon was established, will be further explained in the next issue.

SUBSEQUENT SPACE COLONIES

Core 3 and Cicero

Construction of Side 3, located on the far side of the moon, began in the year U.C.0035. Initially, it was a traditional open-type space colony, but it was hastily converted into a closed Island Three-type space colony to increase capacity due to the popularity of Zeon Zum Deikun.