In a galaxy filled with plenty of planets, factions, and zero lunar rovers, Starfield's lore is just waiting to be discovered by eager explorers. Ahead of its release in early September, Bethesda has unveiled the official Starfield timeline, which reveals that humanity finally reached Mars in 2050.

This date is set much later than the current proposal, NASA's Artemis mission, which is aiming to send astronauts to Mars by the mid-2030s. This is estimated to be a 16-month-long journey just to reach Mars, and to prepare, NASA plans to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars.

Other highlights from the Starfield timeline include humans reaching the Alpha Centauri system in 2156, the United Colonies being established in 2159, and New Atlantis becomes the official capital city of the UC in 2161. Sadly, humanity's more aggressive side sees a decades-long conflict known as the Narion War rage from 2196-2216, and the Colony Wars begin in 2307.

Between these battles, numerous discoveries are made as humanity explores more of the galaxy and eventually uncovers clues that they may not be alone in the cosmos. Your own journey takes place in 2330, two decades after the bloody end of the Colony Wars at the Battle of Cheyenne, as you join the Constellation group and begin to explore the star systems around you.

Starfield will launch on PC and Xbox Series X|S on September 6, and recent months have seen a more steady flow of information about the game released by Bethesda. During the recent Starfield Direct showcase, topics like the highly flexible ship customization, the detailed character creator, and space combat were covered, and for more details, you can check out everything that we know about Starfield so far.