Luna
Geography
Luna is a large moon. The only natural satellite of planet Earth. Like most moons, Luna is tidally locked to her planet, with the near side (or bright side) always facing Earth and the far side (or dark side) always facing away from Earth.
The far side of Luna is rough, with a lot of mountains and more craters than the near side. The near side is relatively smoother, with comparatively fewer craters and with large plains that the locals call "seas".
Luna has a very small axial tilt. As a result, its poles experience constant twilight. On those poles there are domes that use an elaborate system of mirrors and shades, to create an artificial day-night cycle. In these domes there are cities, forests, and lakes.
Ecosystem
The lack of an atmosphere makes the surface of Luna unsuitable for biological lifeforms. Life on this moon exists inside domes and underground cave systems. Those places are usually heavily forested and with an abundance of fresh water. Salt water does exist but is not as common.
Fauna & Flora
The plants and animals of Luna are engineered to survive in low gravity. Tall, thin, bamboo like plants that reach heights of many thousands of meters, make up dense forests. Woody plants are not common on Luna, as they are outcompeted by the more fast growing bamboo. Fruit plants exist in the form of vines among the tree grass and as bushes on the forest floor.
Huge bugs and crustaceans are very popular in the cave systems of Luna. The low gravity of the moon means that arthropods can lift a heavier exoskeleton with very little effort. Their respiratory system has also been redesigned by scientists to allow greater oxygen intake.
Very common in the domed poles of Luna are the "heavy flyers". These are large vertebrates with four legs and wings, that are often kept as pets by humans. The most common of these creatures are the peryton, the pegasus, the qilin, and of course the hippogryph (Luna's national animal). Due to their dense skeletons, the heavy flyers can survive in worlds with higher gravity, but can only fly on Luna, or other moons of similar size.
Natural Resources
Luna is famous for its regolith. That glittering gray dust that covers its surface. People have been mining this material since they first colonized Luna, using it to make bricks and build their bases. Lunar regolith is made of primarily oxygen and silicon. If a base has means of separating the two, oxygen can be used for breathing and silicon for the construction of electronics.
Other resources found on Luna include precious metals and an isotope of helium called He3. This isotope is highly prized because when it undergoes nuclear fusion, it doesn't produce any neutrons. These days, He3 is mined from the gas giants, where it exists in far larger quantities.
History
Humans have been observing Luna for as long as they have existed. Ancient civilizations worshiped the moon as a deity. Stories from as far back as ancient Greece speak of people traveling to the moon and meeting its strange inhabitants.
Humans finally set foot on Luna in the year 1969, making her the first celestial body to be visited by humans (besides Earth of course). At the time, both the United States of America and the Soviet Union (the two countries with space technology) had plans for permanent bases on Luna.
Those plans however wouldn't be materialised until the early 2030s, more than half a century later. Many colonies were established on, and around Luna by many different countries simultaneously. The people of these colonies mixed, making Luna a melting pot of almost all of Earth's cultures.
This coexistence of different people gave rise to new ideas and movements. The citizens of Luna became more cultured and progressive than their earthly neighbors. The unexpected success of the lunar colonies gave people hope for a future in space. This newly found hope, in turn lead to the establishment of other space colonies on Mars, Venus, and the asteroid belt.
Initially the other space colonies looked up to Luna as a progressive heaven that their societies should be modelled after. That view was not to last. Luna's proximity to Earth meant there was more influence from the conservative homeland, than on the other planets and asteroids. Luna was the last world to abolish employment, and only did so after pressure from Venus.
Eventually, during the later part of the 22nd century, the people of Luna saw the trend of the space colonies surpassing Earth, and sided with them during the War of the Worlds. Ironically this decision was a decisive factor in the war and (in part) lead to a victory for the colonies.
Since the end of the war, Luna has been a culturally and historically significant world, albeit a very static one. Her lifeless gray surface was mostly preserved, as if to remind people of the old days of early space colonization.
Not even the cities of Luna changed. They kept the retro, cyberpunk aesthetic, with neon billboards and skyscrapers naked of plants. Despite the traditional aesthetic Luna is as modern as any other world in terms of technology and philosophy.
Tourism
Similar to Earth, Luna has a lot of historical sites that attract lots of tourists. These sites differ from those of Earth in that they don't have any religious (or otherwise spiritual) significance. They are just places where things happened. Also, most of them are located near cities, or railway stations, whereas those on Earth are out in the wilderness.
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