Terra Nova

Terra Nova

For the ENT episode of the same name, please see "Terra Nova".

Terra Nova was a Class M planet located less than twenty light years from Earth. It was the site of the first Human colony outside the Sol system and was founded in 2078 after a nine-year flight from Earth. The people who lived there were known as Novans.

There are several animal species native to Terra Nova, including a type of burrowing animal, referred to by the Novans as a digger. (ENT: "Terra Nova")

History

By 2069, Humans had already established themselves within their own solar system, having founded New Berlin on the Moon, Utopia Planitia on Mars, and a few asteroid bases. Deep space became the next frontier for the species, and the question began to be asked: "Could Humans colonize deep space?"

Terra Nova was discovered in the late 21st century by astronomers likely working for the United Earth Space Probe Agency. Due to its proximity to Earth, the decision was made to establish a colony on the planet. The success of such a colony was considered uncertain from the start, and the expedition became known as "the Great Experiment".

Digger skins

Captain Mitchell was selected to lead the expedition. Nearly two hundred colonists, made up of specialists and families, would be selected to join him on this mission.

The journey to Terra Nova from Earth would take nine years at the warp speeds attainable in that period. The SS Conestoga was commissioned for the task, and was specially constructed so that it could be dismantled on arrival to serve as homes and service buildings for the colony.

File:TerraNovaGroundbeaking.jpg

Groundbreaking of the town hall on Terra Nova in 2078.

The Conestoga arrived at her destination on June 23, 2078. Captain Mitchell oversaw the groundbreaking for the colony shortly thereafter. The very first transmissions from the colony were broadcast worldwide on Earth, and the population watched entranced as Humanity made its first claim on the cosmos.

The colony proved to be amazingly successful, a fully-functioning community on a world in deep space. After five years, UESPA grew interested in repeating the experience. Working from the position that "nothing succeeds like success," the heads of the Space Agency announced their intentions to launch a second ship full of colonists to Terra Nova.

The colonists already living on Terra Nova were not amenable to the idea of now having to share the home they'd struggled to build. An organized opposition arose, led by a man named Mark Logan. By 2081, relations with Earth became severely strained, culminating with Logan's transmitting threats of violence upon any ships that entered the planet's orbit.

Tragically, that was the last message received from Terra Nova. Earth lost contact with the colony shortly thereafter. The Space Agency decided that it didn't have the resources to launch an investigation, and it was decided that the fate of the Terra Nova colony would have to remain a mystery. (ENT: "Terra Nova")

Rediscovery

Jamin, a descendant of the original colonists who survived the meteor strike.

In 2151, a landing party from Enterprise discovered the irradiated remains of the colony, and it was determined that the colony had been destroyed by a meteor strike, scattering toxic debris over the region.

However, the children of the original colonists had survived the meteor strike, and had taken refuge in underground caverns in order to avoid the radioactive surface. The original colonists believed that Earth had attacked them because of the hostile nature of their last transmissions, an impression shared by their 22nd century descendants still living on the planet.

The Novans, as they called themselves, subsequently took members of the landing party hostage. Eventually the Enterprise crew was able to gain the trust of the Novans, convincing them that Earth was not responsible for destroying the original colony. As the underground water supply the Novans used to survive had slowly become contaminated by the surface radiation, the Novan population was eventually relocated to a region unaffected by the meteor strike. (ENT: "Terra Nova")