The direct consequence of this was a severe decline of industrial capacity all over the world, as many businesses had to adapt to these new regulations or simply could not keep up with the new market. With Vesta's resources being a restricted good, MINERVA capitalized on the Oberon program's space infrastructure to launch probes to the deeper parts of the Aurigan system. At the same time, drones and other pieces of machinery were sent to Vesta's two moons, Vestalia I and Vestalia II, to establish an initial foothold for early colonization. Designed to collect and refine resources on-site to reduce costs, these first waves of drones constructed the infrastructure required to sustain human population centers and prospected most of the two moons.
In preparation for the first waves of human settlers to Vestalia I and Vestalia II, several orbital fuel depot were constructed from 87 to 92, allowing for heavier payloads to be sent to the two moons. This, combined with advances in spaceflight technologies, allowed Humanity to settle the two moons as early as 107. With a lower gravity and no biosphere to protect, Vesta's two moons quickly became industrial hubs, complemented by a growing number of orbital refineries and factories specialized in zero-g manufacturing. This allowed Vesta's economy to recover thanks to the new influx of resources, while keeping the Chroniclers, and most of the world's population, appeased.
Life on these early settlements was not without challenges, however, as the limited supplies sent by Vesta were not enough to support the growing population. For more than two decades, the various lunar settlements frequently had to ration their food, water and medical supplies despite the construction of local production units and hydroponic farms. Over time, the settlements went from modular constructions buried within concrete domes to proper underground habitats and surface facilities, linking the human districts to the drone-based industrial districts.
These lunar settlements eventually grew into cities with extensive infrastructure to maintain large populations and heavy traffic, ferrying valuable cargo shipments back to Vesta in exchange for more settlers and various goods. The two moons were also excellent locations for laboratories and field tests for various new technologies, such as improvements on the DSM singularity generators and the use of Oström Condensates into weapons and power sources. Learning from the remilitarization efforts of Mars, a multitude of shipyards and docks were also built on these moons.
While the exploitation of Vestalia I and Vestalia II provided Vesta with a reliable supply of minerals, the two moons lacked rare earth metals and fuel sources, prompting MINERVA to send out probes to prospect the remaining planets of the Aurigan system. These probes relentlessly analyzed and catalogued nearly every astronomical body in the system, providing an extensive view of all available resources and marking them for exploitation. Naturally, the first waves of resource collectors were sent in 121 to the system's asteroid belt, already under heavy supervision of Oberon's telescope network.
The second wave was sent in 133 to Atalanta to setup mining facilities and spaceports for shipping resources back to Vesta. These settlements grew significantly faster that those of Vestalia I and II thanks to a well-thought out logistic fleet supplying the colony with a constant stream of resources. In time, the Atalantian colony also became a refining hub for the minerals brought from the asteroid belt, sending back processed materials and goods back to Vesta to reduce the load on the planet's orbital infrastructure and boost the colony's economy.
As more and more resources were brought back to Vesta, it became obvious that additional factories would be required to process the growing supply. A multitude of orbital factories were assembled in Vesta's orbit while entire manufacturing complexes were built on Vestalia I and IIs, giving MINERVA an unparalleled industrial capacity and greatly boosting the entire world's economy. Orbital shipyards were also built to begin the construction of automated exploration ships, which were too large to be built ion existing shipyards. Utilizing the recently developed and improved DSM technology, these ships were sent out to map out the Elysian Star Cluster with more accuracy than the few observatories back on Vesta ever could.
With a rapidly growing economy and colonies being established to all corners of the Aurigan system, MINERVA became the most powerful nation in Humanity's history, despite its meager population of less than twenty million citizens. Such an abundance of resources for so few people meant that most lived in luxurious conditions, even on the newest colonies thanks to a robust logistic network. Still, the thirst for adventure among the youth and the desire for more territory for the older generations led to a large exploration endeavor, eventually leading to the discovery of the Ceryx system in 146.
This discovery would mark a turning point in MINERVA's history, as the administration began to lay down ambitious plans to colonize the system despite it being beyond the reach of conventional ships flying through the void of deep space. DSM technology was heavily invested into, while zero-g manufacturing and modular construction methods rapidly evolved to match the growing demand. Within two decades, humanity had advanced more than it ever could since Planetfall, rapidly growing its population and continuously seizing more territory. The last major colony was founded in 169, thus ending the colonization of the Aurigan system and allowing MINERVA to dedicate its efforts on Ceryx.
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