The Ares Program (Latin: Missio Aris) was an effort of the Collegium Caelum Romanum (CCR) to found a colony on Mars. The plan called for the construction of a city on the planet's surface, not a mere Martian base. Ares was begun by a group of four Senators who proposed a 1 billion Dn per year fund to go into a manned mission to Mars. The proposal lay in legislative purgatory until news broke of the launch of a manned Maya ship to the Red Planet. Scarred of falling behind in the space race, the Senate voted strongly in favor of Ares.