Re: Settlement & Exploration ropogation
Here are some notes I took a few years back when I was coming up with ideas for my campaign. Here are the steps on colonizing other worlds I outlined.
1. Send robots and materials to the planet or moon. This can be a slow trip, to conserve fuel.
2. Once the robots land, they build the habitat. They may begin terraforming the surrounding area on a very small scale.
3. Humans make a fast trip to the planet. Once they settle in, they can continue and expand the terraforming process.
By the slow and fast trips, I was referring to the VASIMR system, which can vary the rocket's thrust and specific impulse.
Also, I realize terraforming takes centuries, if not millenia to complete. But I can see the process beginning soon after colonization begins. Perhaps it won't start after humans settle in, however.