Star Trek Universe celebrates First Contact Day

If the timeline holds up, we’ll be meeting the Vulcans in 40 years, in the year 2063. That first meeting between humans and Vulcans is known as First Contact Day — celebrated on April 5 — and the casts of Star Trek franchises from Picard to Strange New Worlds to Prodigy and beyond celebrated the occasion on social media. 

You might have spotted First Contact Day trending on social media as the members of the Star Trek Universe commemorated the day. The day in question is a reference to a major plot point in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact, in which the crew of the Enterprise (and by “crew” we mean the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew) find themselves transported back in time. In order to save the future, they must help Zefram Cochrane, the inventor of the warp core, to complete his task so that the Vulcans take notice. 

First Contact was also a big moment for TNG cast member Jonathan Frakes, who made his feature film directorial debut with the movie. Since then he’s directed a number of shows and movies, with his most recent turn behind the camera coming on Star Trek: Picard season 3. 

This year’s First Contact Day is very special because The Next Generation cast has been reunited in Picard season 3, and seeing them back in action has been a nostalgia-laden thrill for longtime fans, many of whom first discovered Star Trek through the first spinoff of the original series. 

Of course, we’re living in a bold new age of Star Trek thanks to the efforts of an enthusiastic team at Paramount Plus who have created multiple spinoffs, many of which are interconnected with overlapping stories and characters. The franchise is bigger and bolder than ever before, with more shows like Star Trek: Starfleet Academy on the horizon. 

All it takes is a look at the enthusiasm from the Star Trek Universe’s cast members to see how excited they are to celebrate First Contact Day together. 

Here's some love from the Star Trek: Picard crew:

The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast celebrated First Contact Day with new promo pictures for their upcoming second season.

And the Lower Decks crew got in the action, too:

And of course Star Trek wouldn't be what it is today without the fans: