Devout Infidel

In response to "Iranians in space":

It’s a bright morning on Ahura-5, the fifth planet in the binary star system, Appadana-Alpha. The two suns in the sky rise in the east and stay there for most of the Ahuran day which is on the average 18 hours. Remarkably, the daily cycle is close to that of earth: 27 hours in an Ahuran day. The tilt of the planet is about 23 degrees, similar to earth making four seasons possible on Ahura-5. It takes Ahura-5 about 3.5 earth years to complete one orbit around its parent stars.

The year is 3,680 by the Persian calendar – The calendar has been restored for a long time and now reflects year 0 as the first year of the establishment of the Achamanian Empire, the mighty Empire that once ruled vast lands in Western as well as Central Asia and North Africa.

Ahura-5 has been colonized by people from Earth for about 35 years now. Most of the inhabitants were born on the planet and some have never seen earth. Earth is a mere 25 light years away which can be travelled in about 2 months with the current propulsion system technology developed by joint scientists from the International Space Agency.

Why is the planet called Ahura-5? Well, the first colonial settlers who set foot on this place were Iranians, so they named both the planet and the star system after known Persian references. It is a proud tradition that has been carried for generations by Iranians, although there have been few bumps in the road to maintain national identity.

Although orbiting a binary system, Ahura-5 resides in what’s known as the “Green-Belt” of the star system. The region where planet’s orbit is stable and life has time to establish a foot-hold. It is a bit larger than earth with a diameter of 10,000 KM, but roughly the same amount of land to water ratio. The climate is similar to earth, the air is clean, water is plentiful and there are plenty of minerals, noble metals and various deposits for settlers. Although earth has been cleaned up somewhat, its deposits of necessary minerals, fuels, and other necessities are all but gone. The colonial government on Ahura-5 oversees the mining and shipment of minerals, metals and other commodities produced on Ahura-5 to earth. There are 50 other colonies within 30 light years of earth similar to Ahura-5.

Life on Ahura-5 for the 3,500 settlers is enjoyable. There are people of various ethnicities working and living together on the planet. There are recreational activities on the mountains and nearby parks near the colony. Most of the planet has been explored via remote robotic and mapping systems.

Long-term plans are to continue to increase the number of inhabitants on Ahura-5 due to its earth-like conditions and abundance of resources. The word is that 3 large ships filled with Persians are scheduled to leave earth for Ahura-5 in 6 months.

The future is bright for Ahura-5.