We Are Just Reprints
With everything we know about reprints, and that NoA can just reprint you back to what is essentially factory settings (with some caveats), I'm starting to believe that we have been here much longer than we are told. Considering our first experience in game is hearing "body print complete", NoA tells us about our interactions with the other survivors, we know NoA reprinted Zip back to her first time on planet, and that the last Blackbox was active over 30 years ago is the only reference for time passing that we are given, it is my belief that we have been stranded on Proteus for much much longer than is assumed.
Because Gene mutations and reprinting are the basis of the game, I believe it is possible we are being reprinted by a NoA that was purposely sunk to a depth that would make it hard to retrieve without gene mutations to adapt you to the pressure. A gene mutation that is also coincidentally sunk with the NoA.
I have a few thoughts on why, but without further audio logs from other survivors or more information about our own characters pervious interactions with them it will be hard to tell. I've also seen some leaked audio logs that would insinuate that the player was among the first survivors printed when the Cicada crashed, but I take those all with a grain of salt right now.
That all said the interior of the observatory is being described as undisturbed for two centuries, and it mentions that the "trees", not singular tree, are dying. So there is a whole lot there clearly unknown at the time. To me it's all pointing at the time frame we are given by NoA being a lie.