New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Star Trek

Star Trek is a legendary science fiction franchise that began as a TV show in the 1960s and blossomed into a sprawling universe of series, films, books, games, and passionate fandom. Created by Gene Roddenberry, it launched in 1966 with the original series featuring Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, and the starship Enterprise, whose mission was “to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Though its first run was short-lived, Star Trek quickly gained cult status and evolved into a cultural phenomenon.

At its heart, Star Trek is more than just space battles and aliens—it’s a vision of a hopeful future. Set in a time where humanity has overcome poverty, war, and inequality, the franchise explores themes like cooperation, diversity, ethics, and the wonders of science and exploration. Its fictional universe includes the United Federation of Planets, warp drives, teleporters (known as “transporters”), and advanced technologies that often inspired real-world innovation—like tablets, voice assistants, and even early mobile phones.

Over the decades, Star Trek has expanded into numerous series, including The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and more. Each explores different corners of the galaxy, philosophical questions, and the human condition—often through the lens of futuristic technology and alien encounters.

Fun, imaginative, and sometimes deeply profound, Star Trek has become a cultural touchstone. It blends adventure with idealism, science with story, and remains a powerful symbol of curiosity, progress, and the belief that humanity can reach for the stars—and deserve to get there.

In Star Trek's fictional universe, humans developed faster-than-light space travel after barely surviving a 21st-century World War III. Later, humans united with other sentient species of the galaxy to form the United Federation of Planets. As a result of alien intervention and science, humanity has largely overcome many Earth-bound frailties and vices by the 23rd century. Star Trek stories usually depict the adventures of humans and aliens who serve in the Federation Starfleet.

Related Stories
 


Space & Time News

September 16, 2026

Scientists have engineered yeast to turn PET plastic and agricultural waste into ingredients for protein-rich, 3D-printed cookies called µBites. Developed partly for NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, the system can produce proteins, fats, ...
Solar sails pushed by powerful lasers could reach incredible speeds, but relativity may eventually make the light itself work against them. At around 75% of the speed of light, scattered photons can begin creating drag, adding a surprising obstacle ...
NASA has brought two of Swift’s telescopes back online after technical problems derailed a commercial mission intended to rescue the aging observatory by raising its orbit. With atmospheric drag pulling the spacecraft downward faster than ...
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope has launched on a million mile journey to L2, where it will scan huge portions of the cosmos for clues about dark matter, dark energy, and distant worlds. With survey ...
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope will combine Hubble-like detail with a field of view 100 times larger, giving astronomers a sweeping new way to explore the cosmos. Its observations could uncover hidden planets, map billions of cosmic objects, and ...
NASA has successfully tested a system that allows satellites to navigate without GPS by using other spacecraft and debris as landmarks in orbit. In just three days, FALCON also improved the known orbits of more than 200 space objects completely ...
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is now enclosed inside its Falcon Heavy fairing and nearly ready for launch. Its mission could uncover thousands of exoplanets while helping scientists investigate dark matter, dark energy, and the accelerating ...
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope has been cleared for final launch preparations ahead of a targeted August 30 liftoff aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. The powerful new observatory will probe cosmic expansion, the history of the universe, and distant ...
A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 stage crashed into the Moon on Aug. 5, leaving behind a newly formed crater about 60 feet wide. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured detailed images showing bright and dark streaks of debris blasted across the ...
Researchers have found a clever new way to map a part of Earth’s upper atmosphere that is notoriously difficult to observe. Using orbital data from roughly 1,200 Starlink satellites, they ...
NASA is assembling the foundations of a future Moon Base through a wave of robotic missions and powerful new commercial landers. More than 20 landings are planned through 2029, testing everything from precision landings and lunar communications to ...
NASA engineers have found a clever way to squeeze more life out of Voyager 2, nearly half a century after it left Earth. In an operation nicknamed the “Big Bang,” the team simultaneously shut down certain power-hungry hardware and switched to ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET