Season Finale: Solar conjunction began. The staff on Earth could no longer communicate with Colony One, and no one knew where the deadly bacteria was coming from. The second ship to Mars was a little over a month away and was also unable to communicate with Earth. The crew on the ship didn’t know if it would be safe to land, and if they did join their team members on Mars, what would they find?

Patients fell into comas. The medical staff on Mars and at the ISA headquarters worked around the clock trying to find a solution, a cure, before solar conjunction began. Communication between Earth and Mars became strained. There weren’t enough doctors and nurses, and there wasn’t enough time. Every healthy member left on Mars did their part to track down the source of the illness in an effort to save their team while fearing they might be next. Their efforts only turned up another frustrating mystery.

The sickness started out as a nuisance. Protocol was followed. The medical staff had plans in place for colds, the flu and many other illnesses. They thought it was under control. Less than two weeks later over half the colony was sick and their symptoms were escalating.

Ten months after the one year anniversary celebration, the underground permanent habitat of Colony One opened, and the crew moved into roomier housing that provided them with much more security and protection. Just a couple months shy of two years on Mars, the crew finally started to feel like they’d made a home. Turns out it was the calm before the storm.

After a year of living on Mars in the temporary habitats, the crew decided to ring in the occasion with a big anniversary party: The Ultimate. Beyond surviving on Mars, there was a lot to celebrate as the archaeological team had been uncovering some fascinating new evidence.

Things were progressing well for the Colony One team. The dig site work was on schedule and plants were growing in the greenhouse. Months after arriving on Mars, the crew was settling into a regular routine. Routine and progress don’t cancel out the hazards on Mars, though, and the crew quickly discovered that their new lives would include confronting these dangers on a regular basis.

Every mission that the ISA conducts is exhaustively researched and tested to ensure success as much as possible. If plan A does not succeed, there are plans B, C and D already in place to fall back on, which have all been thoroughly vetted as well. The crew of Colony One were well prepared for many of the dangers on Mars whether it be personal health and safety or protection of the whole colony. They arrived ready for battle, and Mars did not disappoint.

Preparation for this mission started in 2036, after the mysterious rock structure was discovered by the crew of the first manned mission to Mars. With over a thousand qualified candidates, the crew was carefully selected by the newly-formed International Space Alliance (I.S.A.). Before these fifty individuals entered the spacecraft that would take them on their nine-month journey to Mars, they worked together on Earth for many years preparing and working together to become one team, the Colony One Crew. The very first people to live on Mars.