Summary
- Jupiter has been a significant reference point and destination in the Star Trek universe, being featured in various iterations and serving as a location for key events and missions.
- In Star Trek Into Darkness, a secret Section 31 base orbits Io, one of Jupiter's moons, and plays a crucial role in Admiral Marcus' plan to militarize Starfleet.
- Jupiter and its moons continue to be of importance in Star Trek: Picard, with a mission to Europa shaping history and a Borg Cube hiding in Jupiter's Eye becoming a major threat to the galaxy.
Throughout its nearly 60-year history, the various starships and crews of Star Trek have explored countless planets across the galaxy, but Jupiter remains a fascination despite its proximity to Earth. In the earliest days of Starfleet and the Federation, Jupiter often served as a reference point for test flights and starship missions. The first test vehicle to travel at Warp 2, the NX-Alpha, made it to Jupiter before its power systems overloaded and it exploded. The first Starfleet starbase, appropriately named Starbase 1, was located in Jupiter's orbit and a shuttle route known as Jovian Run flew between Jupiter and Saturn every day.
Jupiter and its moons have played a role across multiple iterations of the Star Trek franchise. In J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness, a secret Section 31 base orbited Io, one of Jupiter's moons. Star Trek: Picard also heavily featured Jupiter and its moons, as Renée Picard (Penelope Mitchell) participated in the historically significant Europa Mission in Picard season 2, and the Borg used Jupiter's Eye as a hiding spot in Picard season 3. Even when Starfleet has expanded its reach to hundreds of planets throughout the galaxy, Jupiter and its moons still hold a certain allure.
