First Contact Day
First Contact Day is observed annually on April 5 to celebrate the day on the fictional future history of events in the Star Trek Universe, taking place on April 5, 2063. This is the day that Vulcans first made their presence known to humans, recognizing the human’s invention of warp drive, when inventor Zefram Cochrane launched the Phoenix. This notable event occurred on April 5th, 2063 in Bozeman, Montana, Planet Earth. The invention of the warp drive and contact with Vulcans paved the way to the formation of the fictional Starfleetand the United Federation of Planets, which remain a hopeful symbol that was borne from but transcends the ideals of even the United Nations. Learn more at the official Star Trek website.
First Contact Day and Star Trek
In the real wold, the day is used to celebrate the Star Trek media franchise. It was created by Ronald D. Moore, screenwriter of the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact. First Contact Day should not be confused with the Paramount Studios promotion of Star Trek Day, celebrated on our about September 8, the anniversary of the television premiere in 1966 of the first TV series featuring Captain Kirk, Spock, The Enterprise, and its crew.
Within the Star Trek universe, the day is featured aboard the starship Voyager, in Season 7, Episode 23, “Homestead” which aired May 9, 2001. In that episode, the Talaxian shipmate Neelix got the crew to celebrate First Contact Day in a big way. Included in the celebration is an ancient jukebox playing the favorite music of warp drive inventor Zefram Cochrane, along with his favorite food (cheese pierogi). As shown in the movie First Contact, Cochrane liked classic hard rock and roll music, such as artists Steppenwolf and Roy Orbison, and their works “Magic Carpet Ride” and “Ooby Dooby”. When Neelix got to celebrate First Contact Day, it had been 315 years since then, thus making that celebration on April 5, 2378. In the episode, Neelix tried to get the Vulcan Tuvok to dance, but all he could convince him to do was to perform the Vulcan greeting which were the first words the humans heard Vulcans speak: “Live Long and Prosper.”
While Neelix made the day a great excuse for a big party, in the episode Captain Janeway comments that all it meant to her growing up was a day off from school. Apparently, later, at least some schools in the Star Trek universe such as WSA continued to operate on First Contact Day while nonetheless recognizing and celebrating the day. (See Short Treks, “Children of Mars.”)
"First Contact" as a Sci-Fi Genre and Real World Possibility
It should be noted that the phrase “First Contact” is also known as a sub-genre within the larger genre of science fiction. Although many such stories portray meeting aliens as a tragedy for humans (The War of the Worlds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) there are also many which envision the meeting as a positive event for humanity, including Star Trek’s own “First Contact,” and Carl Sagan’s Contact, as well as Arrival, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and The Day the Earth Stood Still. The latest in the genre is Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary which I predict will be a lasting classic in the genre – it is the best!
In the real-world, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) continues. After some initial work, Congress canceled any involvement by NASA in that search. See NASA and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (NASA.gov). So the effort today is lead by the non-profit SETI Institute.
As a concept, the idea of first contact with other intelligent life forms should help us transcend the petty human concerns that emotionally cripple so many humans (especially world leaders), to the detriment of all other life on Earth and our own spiritual enrichment.
Even a First Contact with alien life forms that are not intelligent would help humanity to remove its myopic anthropocentrism. Let’s hope that NASA’s Europa Clipper lays a good foundation for finding life on the huge ocean of Jupiter’s moon Europa!