ASTERIA | Expedition 21

"'Advanced Space Technology, Exploration & Research Institute for Intergalactic Alliance'"
Mica stands behind the telescope set up on the edge of the abandoned quarry. The night is warm, and with its source in the the thousands of streetlights a couple of kilometers away, a fiery golden aura spills over the sky. They wouldn't have seen anything if they chose to aim the telescope from any of the balconies.
Leila rotates an eyepiece in her hands.
"Couldn't they have chosen a less complicated name?"
~
Annually, hundreds of thousands of aspiring young scientists vie for the opportunity to be selected for a journey to ASTERIA, the preeminent space station in lunar orbit. As the ambitious flagship project of the century, there are grandiose designs in place to establish the very first orbital outpost for human civilization.