Aires is a planet of extremes—shifting from a frozen methane wasteland to a raging methane sea. As its orbit carries it further from its sun, the planet’s atmosphere freezes, leaving a four month period every rotation where everything on the planet is trapped in ice. One hundred years ago, a survey detected life moving beneath Aires’ frozen surface, and a large scientific expedition was launched to investigate. Sadly, nothing more has been seen or recorded for a century. When the Weyland Corp expedition was recalled, only a rotating skeleton crew was assigned to monitor the planet.
Now, a crew of thirty-two scientists, administrators, and security officers live on an aging buoyant/submersible research and monitoring platform built to accommodate two hundred. The team has two antique submarines, four research pods, and a dropship to get them to and from orbit. Assignment to Aires Platform is considered a dead end for W-Y scientists with experience and a good start for interns and new hires. While unsubstantiated, rumor has it that the last transmission from Aires indicated the team had located what appeared to be artificial structures at the bottom of the methane sea, and that their sensor buoys had again begun to register movement beneath the ice...
History
Aires Outpost was a planet located in the POL-5362 System of the Outer Veil's Neroid Sector. In 2083, Weyland Corp established the seagoing Aires Platform on Aires after a survey detected movement under the planet's ice sheet. When nothing of note was found, the platform's complement of two hundred scientists was vastly reduced, leaving a mere thirty-two staff at the facility. This number stayed consistent as employees came and went over the following century, and Weyland-Yutani Corporation scientists saw Aires as a dead-end posting. In 2183, Aires Outpost was situated in Three World Empire space; also in that year, the platform's sensors were said to have detected movement once again. These readings apparently suggested the presence of artificial structures beneath Aires' surface.
Climate and terrain
Aires' climate was toxic, with regular methane rainstorms. The mean temperature on Aires was -223°C. Though technically terrestrial, Aires' terrain varied depending on its proximity to its star POL-5362, with the methane wastes of its surface frozen for four months when furthest from the star, and liquid when it was closest.
Economy
Aires' key resources included methane and other, uncatalogued elements.
Population
Thirty–two scientists, administrators, and security officers resided on Aires Platform.
Points of interest
Aires Platform was a Weyland–Yutani research facility operating on Aires as of 2183. It was also rumored that inorganic structures existed beneath the planet's methane sea, though those rumors were unsubstantiated.
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