PHASE 1: Global Warming:



Year 1: massive solar sails were put in position above Mars’s poles, and concentrated sunlight through a mirror and magnification system, and construction began on a equatorial space elevator into low orbit, largely built on the surface of Mars using available resources and also imports from the Asteroid Belt



Year 5: inflatable structures were placed in stable orbit around Mars, facing the Sun, creating an artificial magnetosphere to lower radiation levels on the surface. This had the secondary effect of speeding up global warming



Year 15: construction on space elevator completed, Mars began to show signs of warming as carbon dioxide trapped in the ice caps entered the thickening atmosphere. To speed things up, comets were plucked from space and smashed into the poles.



Year 20: in preparation for Phase 2, satellites containing seeds and spores (planter satellites) were placed into low orbit, ready to disperse them across the surface during Phase 2. Construction of hundreds of huge algae farms began, though they were not to be populated until Phase 2.



Year 30: Mars was warmed to the point where phase 2 can begin. Algae farm construction was also completed. At this point, Mars had oceans and a noticeably thicker atmosphere



PHASE 2: Adding Oxygen:



Year 30: After automatically detecting that Mars was ready for life, the planter satellites repositioned themselves and dispersed seeds and spores across the surface of Mars. Making extensive use of the space elevator, algae genetically engineered to put out a maximum amount of oxygen were introduced to the algae farms. It was noted that piles of bacterial “sludge” formed in colonies scattered around the planet. It is believed to be either indigenous Martian bacteria, or Terran bacteria left by humans during early colonization. At this point, all that needed to be done was wait.



Year 125: the atmosphere was oxygenated enough for Phase 3 to begin.



PHASE 3: Introducing Wildlife: (interrupted)



Year 125: fauna genetically engineered to survive in an exceptionally low-oxygen environment were introduced in the appropriate biomes that formed across Mars.



DIVERSION:

Year 135: Evacuation of Mars is announced as problems on Earth make completing the terraformation less and less of a priority. Mars was to be cut off within five years.



Year 140: the majority of the humans on Mars are gone. Approximately 10,000 remain, either staying by choice, or were otherwise unable to leave. While there would still be marginal contact with Earth, there would be no more supply missions or support. Mars was largely self-sufficient at this point, but some things were still required from Earth for civilized life.



Year 160: suddenly, all contact with Earth ceases. Earth was sent back into the Dark Ages by an unknown catastrophe.



Year 1,750: much had changed in a millennium and a half on this changed Mars. For starters, Martians had speciated from Terrans, becoming an entirely new breed of human, unable to reproduce with Terrans. Compared to Terrans, they were several inches taller, with weaker bones, and, most notably, the ability to breathe in Mars’s low oxygen environment. The “indigenous” Martians have degenerated over the generations into hunter-gatherer tribes similar to Native Americans. In the meanwhile, the algae had escaped from the algae farms, and become invasive, creating colonies and formations sometimes visible from space. Earth, however, is still recovering from the catastrophe.



Year 2,000: Terrans have fully recovered from the catastrophe, and begin to re-colonize Mars...