NASA

Faced with budget cuts and the loss of military shuttle payloads to the United States Air Force (USAF) in the late 1990's, NASA became relegated to deep space probes and scientific exploration. The NASA "Galileo" space station was finally abandoned in 2004. This appeared to spell the end for NASA as a serious space pioneer.

The successful commissioning of NASA's deep space-capable Explorer class manned vehicle (based on the Proteus nuclear propulsion system) quickly opened the highway to the outer solar system. The now historic Colombus Mars mission placed NASA, and its familiar technology partner, JAB, firmly into the lead in planetary colonization. This first mission successfully landed sixty-three people on Mars with sufficient equipment to construct a small permanent base. Subsequently, NASA has initiated regular Mars flights which leave Earth approximately every fourteen months (this will be shortened to a year very soon).

NASA now provides the majority of the personnel and equipment transport to Mars, including renting payload space (at exorbitant rates) to the somewhat embarrassed ESA/Soviet colony. NASA has also begun using its stable position on Mars as a base for further exploration of the outer Solar System and the Belt. NASA has a manned research station and four mining facilities already in operation in the Belt and several more are planned in the next year.