Countdown to Alien: Covenant: Colonies

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In the Alien universe humanity is no longer confined to life on Earth. They have crossed the solar system and beyond, setting up colonies on new worlds.

The inherent drive of exploration and conquering the unknown has been embedded in mankind since the very beginning. Much of the current evidence shows that early humans originated in Africa, and over thousands of years have spread all across the globe. The ability to adapt, and in some cases dominate, the environment around them, have enabled the human race to create civilizations just about anywhere. But, so far, Earth has been the only place to call home. In the fictional universe that Alien and the other films takes place in, colonies have been established well beyond.

There are many reasons for making these long and dangerous voyages. The search for resources to feed the constant increase in humanity’s consumption seems to me to be the most obvious. As the population on Earth exponentially grows, the stresses to the planet also increase. Food shortages. Famine and overpopulation. Living space. All these things become compromised when a population exceeds a safe and environmentally friendly capacity. It seems obvious that in order to survive as a species, other worlds need to be colonized. Much as our ancestors we’re forced to leave their homes when the land was no longer conducive to their well being.

Getting There

In order to establish colonies, humans have to be able to get there first. It takes some amazing technological breakthroughs to make and survive the effort.

Enter Weyland Industries.

I covered Weyland Industries, and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, in a previous article, but they play an important part in the establishment of man’s colonies. Without the technology perfected by Peter Weyland and his company, it simply would not be possible. Being the first to discover humans ability to hypersleep in a controlled chamber, this put previously impossible voyages more within reach. Passengers could sleep away a multi-year journey and awaken at their destination. Distances still required long trips, some upwards of 50 years. This was the first step towards mans conquering of the stars. Equally as important were vehicles capable of making the trip, and within a reasonable amount of time. These craft were produced and were powered by something called FTL. Faster Than Light. And just like that another hurdle was passed.

Medical equipment and expertise would also be needed on voyages, so extremly advanced medical pods were created. Capable of diagnosing and treating almost any illness or wound. A compact hospital for one. The list goes on, all in the effort to “Discover New Worlds”. Advanced space suits incorporating heads up displays. Artificial Intelligence and androids to help with navigation.

And what happens once they arrive? While some planets or planetoids may share a similar atmosphere to Earth, many would not. Aside from habitats that could withstand hostile atmospheres, the science to transform, or terraform, became necessary. The air could be altered for humans, and pressurized to better match the gravitational limits of the human body. The soil could be reconstituted to cultivate food.

The Colonies

According to the “companies” website, the first human colony off planet was the Luna Colony, established on the Moon in 2039. From there, multiple colonies on the Moon and on Mars followed before eventually leaving the system entirely. A region in space, the Gliese system would be home to quite a few colonies.

These worlds were rich in various resources from diamond and uranium to hydrogen and helium. There are also worlds that bear more of a resemblance to home. HD85512B is nicknamed “New Earth” and is stated to be the most densely populated colony, boasting over 14.5 million colonists. KOI-463.01 is an agricultural world and provides food for several other colonies.

Some exploration led to the discovery of non-human life on other planets. Mostly bacterial, these areas were left for research only.

Project Prometheus was commissioned in the late 21st century to explore the possibility of alien life on other worlds. This was an attempt to learn more about where humans may have come from. This led to the discovery of mankind’s ancestors, the Engineers, as their DNA was a perfect match. LV-223 in the Zeta Reticuli system had was the home to a previous Engineer outpost, still containing their technology and functioning spacecraft.

Origae-6

In Alien: Covenant, over 2,000 men, women and children are en route to a colonize a distant world aboard the colony spacecraft Covenant. Their destination is believed to be a perfect spot for human habitation. What they find, judging from the trailers shown so far, is not what they had hoped.

Alien: Covenant opens in U.S theaters May 19th.