$W{ EARTH
From the Encyclopedia Galactica (Ising University of Antares ed., January 2399) $}

CAPITAL: Singapore
GOVERNMENT TYPE: Semi-presidential, oligarchic
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT (2399): First Minister Peter Marino
POPULATION: 15,230,000,000 (2399 est.)
ORBITAL DISTANCE: 1 AU (0.02 eccentricity)
SATELLITES: 1 (Luna)
AVERAGE SURFACE TEMPERATURE: 15 C
SURFACE GRAVITY: 1 G
ATMOSPHERE: Breathable
LANGUAGES: English (official), Mandarin Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, Swahili, Spanish, Standard Arabic, over 200 others

Earth, or Terra, is the third planet of the Sol system and homeworld of mankind.  Terran evolutionary and cultural development as a species, even today, is heavily influenced by Earth and its history.  Earth possesses environmental peculiarities that boosted the evolution of various life forms for billions of years.  Over this time span, Earth experienced massive glaciations, as well as intense volcanism ranging from standard volcanic activity to colossal flood basalt events.  Each extreme event helped reshape its biosphere, contributing to an unusually rapid pace of evolution on a geological scale.

About four and a half billion years into its history, Terra saw the evolution of mankind as a species that would have quickly dominated land, air and sea, altering the climate of the planet itself on a scale never seen before.  The 22nd century marked a point where human influence on the planet was so immense that enormous technological breakthroughs, such as carbon sequestration facilities, all-out geothermal and solar energy exploitation, and enhanced ecosystem protection, were required to keep Earth's biosphere from degrading beyond the point of no return.  Though even today humanity's impact on the planet is far from negligible, a significant balance has been reached, and global temperatures have returned to pre-industrial levels. Earth's biosphere preservation efforts paved the way for the terraforming breakthroughs of the 2250s. 

The 23rd century marked the beginning of space colonization in earnest, a tremendous milestone in economic and cultural terms. From that point onwards, the identity of Terrans started to diverge from the identity of 'Earthers', the terms used to strictly define those living on the Earth-Luna system. Martians were the first to develop a distinct cultural identity, one that sparked racism for centuries and led to notable armed conflicts, the last being the Red Ocean War of 2350.

The discovery of subspace in the 24th century triggered yet another major cultural and economic leap.  Subspace allowed Earth to be easily connected to colonies across Sol. This process only accelerated as habitable extrasolar worlds were discovered and colonized.  The subsequent Unification and the birth of the Galactic Terran Alliance as the sole ruling authority solidified Earth's role as the capital and hub world of mankind.  This system imploded after the Lucifer catastrophe of 2335 isolated Sol from the rest of the universe. (In the process, a handful of Vasudan defectors, diplomats, and the Lucifer strike pilots were stranded on Earth as well.)

The Lucifer catastrophe and subsequent collapse of the GTA opened old wounds between Earth and its colonies, leading to the Red Ocean War of 2350 and the War of the Ministers of 2372.  The reunification of the Sol system under the Earth Alliance restored Terra to some of its former primacy, though it no longer claims to be the 'Lighthouse of Humanity' as in decades past.

Now, at the turn of the 25th century, Earth is the most densely populated planet in known space, with 15 billion inhabitants.