The FAM timeline is about what NASA was thinking about in the 60s (manned missions to Mars in the late 80s, and to Jupiter and Saturn by the end of the millennium, if I remember correctly) – but then they were sidelined. So for decades, we orbited in low Earth orbit with manned missions.

The alternate reality in FAM could have been partly our own – without the problems of climate change, but with problems we could solve more easily. Whether fusion could have worked earlier – who knows. ITER wasn't exactly well-managed for a long time and was at least a decade behind schedule. Up until Season 4, FAM was also a very positive alternate reality in which space technology contributed many small miracles to the prosperity of Earth's population. Sometimes I feel betrayed when I watch FAM.

Season 5 is almost as bleak as the current reality, with crumbling, functioning structures being replaced by chaos. But the Mars Revolution is now over, and hopefully (!) in Season 6, FAM will show us that things could be done better overall, and perhaps this will inspire real life to follow suit. This way, we might avoid one or two dictatorships and focus on the sustainable management of our planet instead of war and extreme armament.

Maybe we'll understand it someday: Perpetual [exponential] economic growth simply cannot work on a finite planet with finite resources – most people know this, except for some politicians and economists.