New Story Notes

The following are some notes I have started to develop on a new story idea.  I'm hoping to make this a collaborative project, so I'm posting them. 

Background/ questions:
Logistical:
A colony on Europa = how often within range of Earth?  12 years?
Once every 12 years there is an X month period where travel to and from earth can occur.
Information exchange can occur a little more regularly but still limited (how long does it take for a voyager satellite to transmit data in the modern age? - base earth - Jupiter transmission on this answer)
Europa = tidally locked = Colonies on far side of the moon to maximize sunlight?  Colonist frontier on Jupiter facing side => research stations, maybe some natural resource extraction?  To go to the Jupiter facing side is somewhat a badge of courage, perhaps protagonist has visited, seen sight of Jupiter, huge in the sky
how often does Europa rotate around Jupiter? (3.5 days)
Water & ice surface = > floating arcologies?

Historical:
Need to point to a reason why people began to colonize space:
Main idea: space race style.
Iran actually has been hiding nuclear program this whole time (modern day) in order to send out a manned mission via nuclear core space shuttle.  Why?  Understand the rapidly disintegrating power of a theocracy as a means to control population => needed give people a moral imperative with economic benefits.  => discover mineral/ energy source on Mars/Moon
Have protagonist thinking about the celebrated "Shotgun Day" (play on shotgun heard around the world) => the day that Iran launched their first rocket => western world plus China, Russia and Japan go into near panic, but luckily before any hasty nukes could be shot at Iran, scientists point out that it is a shuttle, not a bomb => however, perceiving their own hegemonic in threat, China (Who is Hu Jintao's successor?) and US (Obama), quickly start/ restart their space programs => provides great moral imperative to both countries respectively, adds jobs, and reestablishes the value of science for a generation of impressionable young people => MESSAGE OF HOPE to reader.
Turns out Ahmadinejad was just one big distraction this whole time, with his UN, jews should be exterminated, holocaust never happened, displays really designed to keep other countries in the dark about Iranian ambitions. 
3 generations before setting of story, Martian and Lunar colonies established.  Begin missions on the other side of the asteroid belt.
Protagonist's grandparents on these initial surveys.  Technically, not first colonists, just scientists, but after a colony on Europa is established, they have already been there for decades and join the population in ernest.  Their children were born on Mars, but grow up on Europa.
Colonies on Moon/Mars abandoned after limited resources are exhausted.  However, Jupiter is a font of economically useful materials.  Colony persists.

Cultural:
Population is fairly small and hyper interdependent so common language is needed (Chinese?  English? Farsi? => based on historical account => or something in between the three? One as official communication to earth, with a local pidgin?  Likely English would be mode of communication at least at first.  Could even do something where English is used in official communications, but part of the plot twist is that when crew finally arrive on Earth, find out English has become a near obsolete language (or at least used only in pockets of cultures), maybe most colonists are Chinese, as they are the group most running out of land, with large numbers of Iranian scientists => if that is the case we'd have pidgin Chinese heavily influenced by Farsi.  If Farsi is involved, will need to do a lot of research as I have no experience in that language)
Modern style of education, etc => kids go through compulsory education => however due to the fact that initial space sponsors were from China, US or Iran (those gvts have an interest in a whitewashed history that paints their countries/cultures as great) plus limited communication with earth = we must present a very altered understanding of events from the protagonist's viewpoint =>
SUCH AS
Students are taught a very Iran friendly history in which Iran, China and the US were allies, teaming up with their varying skills to make first colonies in space => present countries as archetypes, US: Christian/Capitalist, China : Atheist/Confucian/Communist, Iran : Islamic/Theocracy, where the view of those religions has drained away from the fundamentalism we see now/ potentially earth at the time of the story is still seeing, and they are used more as historical identities. 
More ideas?  There has to be more to this.

Protagonist: young man, wanting space from his parents, wants to return to earth.  Perhaps of a Farsi and Chinese mixed descent? American?  not sure.  The once every 12 year opportunity to go to earth comes around, he is the first to sign up.

Many supporting characters to be developed.