Cyteen is a station and planet orbiting Lalande 46650, an M2 red dwarf 19.5 light years from Sol. Cyteen Station was founded in 2201 by ECS10 Challenger, which departed in 2192 from Mariner (Van Maanen's Star). Lalande 46650 is also known as Gliese 908 or BD+01 4774. Cyteen Station, later to become Cyteen Inner Station, is established in orbit over a planet with non-sentient life largely poisonous to humans, but with generally Earth-like atmospheric pressure, oceans, topography, and gravity. The colonists begin aggressive terraforming almost immediately.