2032 was a tough year in space exploration.

Policy and procedure writers continue to debate the decision that Terraform Corp made.

Although the company would never pinpoint who made the final call, researchers demonstrated that weeks of internal discussions led to vague conclusions.

Game designers had long ago given their players similar scenarios to work through.

If an Earth-to-Mars transportation vehicle suffers major life support damage, do you use automatic pilot to land the vehicle and give the dead passengers proper burial rites, or do you allow the vehicle to burn up in reentry as a fiery tribute to early pioneer settlers of Mars?

Terraform Corp executives, stuck with their decision – using robotic equipment to remove the dead passengers, giving them a “burial at sea” in order to preserve fuel for the remaining journey to Mars – did not endear them with the general public at the time they ran for public office.

In hind sight, their decision looks wise because the extra fuel provided early settlers an irreplaceable resource when repairs were needed after a major dust storm in 2034.