First contact The term first contact describes the first official encounter between representatives of two races or government s . ( ) Occasionally , the official first contact takes place years or even decades after members of the species involved have first met . Typically , first contact is only initiated by the Federation if a civilization is sufficiently advanced and has developed interstellar travel ( via warp drive , for example ) . Contact with more primitive civilizations is prohibited by the Prime Directive . It has been stated that the preferred method is to privately approach scientist s and intellectual leaders to make the initial contact , on the assumption that they would more easily grasp the concept of alien life . Also , the population is typically observed covertly for some time before making first contact , a decision made after the Klingon first contact . ( ) Captain McCoullough revised the first contact protocols for Starfleet . Following first contact with the enigmatic Wadi , Benjamin Sisko wished McCoullough was in his place . ( ) The Bolian Federation Ambassador Vadosia mentioned that he had a particular interest in first contact procedures . ( ) By 2379 , Captain Jean - Luc Picard had represented the Federation during first contacts with twenty - seven different alien races . ( ) The made the most first contacts since James T . Kirk during its journey through the unexplored Delta Quadrant from 2371 - 2378 . ( ) The Starfleet Command instruction Directive 010 stated that " " Before engaging alien species in battle , any and all attempts to make first contact and achieve non - military resolution must be made . " " ( ) Human - Vulcan first contact . The capitalized term First Contact , in Human context , was used to specifically refer to the first official publicly and globally known contact between Humans and extraterrestrials . The First Contact took place on the evening of April 5 , 2063 , when a Vulcan survey ship , the " " , having detected the warp signature of the " Phoenix " , touched down in Bozeman , central Montana , where they met with the " Phoenix " s designer and pilot , Zefram Cochrane . This event was generally referred to as the defining moment in Human history , eventually paving the way for a unified world government and , later , the United Federation of Planets . The event also became an annual holiday called First Contact Day . ( ; ; ; ) An unofficial first encounter between Humans and a Vulcan occurred during the Depression era in New York City . In 1930 , Kirk and Spock , a Vulcan from the 23rd century , traveled through time and walked on the streets of New York being witnessed by many . When the two were caught stealing clothes by the police , Kirk attempted to explain to the officer that Spock was Chinese and his ears the result of a childhood accident . After they avoided being taken into custody , Spock disguised his Vulcan appearance . ( ) Well documented at the Vulcan Science Directorate and Space Council , but not in common Human knowledge , was also the incident of a small Vulcan survey ship crash landing in Carbon Creek , Pennsylvania , a mining town , in 1957 . The survey ship was sent to investigate the launch of Earth ' s first artificial satellite , " Sputnik " . An impulse manifold malfunction forced the crew to attempt crash - landing . The commander of the vessel perished in the crash , leaving command to T ' Mir , T ' Pol ' s second foremother . Having exhausted their emergency ration s , the crew entered Carbon Creek in disguise as Humans . As the weeks and months wore on , the crew took up various employments in the town and managed to keep their identity as aliens a secret . T ' Mir and Stron were rescued by the " D ' Vahl " in 1958 . Mestral chose to stay behind and live on Earth among Humans , which the other two kept covered up . ( ) Roswell UFO incident . The Roswell Incident was the actual first contact between modern Humans and extraterrestrials that was not considered by Humans to be a supernatural event . The incident was however covered up by the United States Air Force and never made public knowledge . In 1947 , the Ferengi shuttle " Quark ' s Treasure " crash - landed near the town of Roswell , New Mexico . The event was initially reported in the newspaper s , but was quickly retracted by the military , claimed to be a misidentification of weather balloon debris . The three aliens , thought to be Martian s at the time , were found unconscious on board the damaged ship and taken into custody by the United States Army Air Forces . President Harry Truman wanted the aliens to be examined and interrogated , tortured if necessary . The shuttle was stored in Hangar 18 of the Air Force Base and was examined by the military ; however , they couldn ' t figure out how it worked . Quark introduced himself as a Ferengi , the chief financial officer of the Ferengi Alliance , and wanted to sell advanced technology to the United States in exchange for gold . He claimed the Ferengi had conducted surveillance of Earth for years and knew everything there was to know about Humans . He threatened to sell the technology to the Soviet Union if the Americans wouldn ' t buy it from him . Rom attempted to tell the interrogators the truth , that they were accidental time travelers from the future . Nog in turn attempted to tell the interrogators what they wanted to hear , that they were scouts of a massive alien invasion force that was orbiting the Earth and about to invade the planet . The three Ferengi managed to escape on their ship with the help from Faith Garland and Jeff Carlson . Odo was seen shape - shifting by the two 20th century Humans . The Americans did not learn where the aliens really came from or what their true mission was or where they went after they escaped . The incident however proved the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life to the United States government , and gave them information on alien physiology from the thorough medical examinations of the three Ferengi . ( ) Other notable first contacts . During the history of Earth , the planet was in fact contacted several times by aliens . These contacts before the 21st century were not well known , went unnoticed , faded away into mythology or were interpreted as supernatural encounters . Even so , many of them had a lasting impact on the evolution of Human culture through the ages . On several occasions extraterrestrial visitors on Earth who interacted with Humans appeared to be or were disguised as Humans themselves and were not identified as aliens . These included the Sahndara n refugee s who lived among the Greeks during the 1st millennium BC , the El - Aurian Guinan , the half - Betazoid Deanna Troi and a group of Devidian shapeshifters who visited San Francisco in the 1890s , the Bajoran Kira Nerys in San Francisco in 1930 and the Trill Jadzia Dax in San Francisco in 2024 . In some cases when aliens were identified by Humans , the encounters didn ' t become public knowledge , such as when the half - Klingon B ' Elanna Torres was discovered by Humans in Arizona in 1996 and the group of Xindi - Reptilian s who were seen in Detroit in 2004 . ( ; ; ; ; ) Human - Sky Spirit first contact . The earliest known notable Human - extraterrestrial first contact was with the Sky Spirit s , a race of humanoid explorers , with warp - capable starship s , from the Delta Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy . They first visited Earth in the Paleolithic age around 42 , 600 BC and saw that most Humans were barbaric in nature . They did however find a nomadic tribe of hunters who had no culture or language , but who had respect for all life and land . The Sky Spirits initiated first contact and gave the nomads a genetic bond that made them a race of Human - Sky People hybrids called the Inheritor s . The genetic bond gave them the appearance of the Sky Spirit race and the Sky Spirit mentality for curiosity and adventure that eventually became part of all Human culture . The Inheritors were also the first people to migrate to the American continent . When the Europeans invaded the lands around the 16th century most of the Inheritors were killed by war and disease . One tribe of Inheritors , who had the Sky Spirit physical appearance , survived in hiding in the Central America n rain forest , while at least one other tribe modernized and moved away from Earth . ( ) Human - Kukulkan first contact . Kukulkan , an immensely old alien being and the last of its race , saw humanoids in the galaxy as violent beings , always eventually destroying themselves . Kukulkan visited Earth as an experiment and had contact with all the civilizations on the planet . With a plan of turning Humans to a path of peace , it gave them advanced knowledge , such as the Mayan calendar , hieroglyphic writing , and architectural plans to a city with designs of obelisk s , pyramid s , temples and gateways . The ancient Egyptians , Chinese and the Native American s attempted to build the city but only finished parts of it . Kukulkan ' s visit was remembered in Comanche , Maya n and Aztec legend . In Toltec legend he was called Quetzalcoatl . Kukulkan was the basis of the Chinese dragon , and all the other similar winged serpent gods in the various cultures on Earth . ( ) Human - Greek Gods first contact . In the early 3rd millennium BC , a group of powerful immortal beings from Pollux IV landed on Earth in the Mediterranean region . These aliens considered themselves to be gods and presented themselves as such to the primitive Humans . They had the power to control and transform the environment , to change physical shape , the power of teleportation , as well as control over the life and death of other beings . The worship of these aliens was the beginning of the Ancient Greek civilization and their deeds on Earth became the Greek classic myths . Eventually Humans became less interested in the worship of these gods . Instead of punishing Humans and demanding worship , the aliens left Earth around 2700 BC for their home planet . Many of the Greek gods eventually decided to end their own existence . In 2267 , James T . Kirk and his crew made contact with Apollo , the last of the Greek god s , who had waited for his worshippers to develop space travel and seek him out . The encounter resulted in the death of Apollo and the extinction of his species . ( ) Human - Megan first contact . During the 13th century , a group of Megan s settled on Earth . They were an ageless species from a parallel universe where magic was part of the natural laws . They assisted Human s as sorcerer - contractor s using their natural ability to change reality with the power of thought . The Megans were responsible for the medieval legends of magic and love potions , witch es , wizards , evil sorcerers , demons , and warlocks . By the 17th century , it had become clear to the Megans , that Humans were only manipulating them to gain power for themselves and to serve their own greed and lust . When Megans refused to serve , Humans turned against them and taught others to fear and hate them . Lucien , a Megan , known on Earth by the name Lucifer , became synonymous with the mythological Devil of Christianity . Asmodeus , became known as a demon . The Megans who had survived the centuries of persecution eventually settled in Salem , Massachusetts , to live out their lives there in the guise of normal Humans . After several Megans made the mistake of using their powers again , they were burned as witches during the Salem witch trials . The last surviving Megans left Earth and returned to their universe , where they remained bitter and fearful of Humans . In 2269 , the made contact with the Megans and Captain Kirk managed to prove them that Humans had changed . Asmodeus welcomed Humans to visit Megas - Tu in the future . ( ) Human - Non - corporeal first contact . In the late 17th century , a symbiotic non - corporeal anaphasic lifeform took the appearance of a Human male , claiming to be the ghost of a man called Ronin , who was born in 1647 in Glasgow , Scotland . It did this to fool Jessel Howard into a symbiotic relationship . Jessel was one of Beverly Crusher ' s distant ancestors and one of the rare Humans who had biochemistry compatible with the lifeform ' s energy matrix . The symbiotic relationship was passed down to each of her daughters and was the source of many ghost stories surrounding the family . ( ) In 1888 , Redjac a non - corporeal parasitic lifeform began to gain fame on Earth when he used host - Humans to become a serial killer of women in London , England . The entity fed on the emotion s produced by the fear and terror in its victims . Newspaper s dubbed him " Jack the Ripper " . ( ) Human - Klingon first contact . Unofficially , the first known encounter between a Human and a Klingon took place when Samuel Clemens traveled forward in time from the year 1893 . He was beam ed aboard the and met Lieutenant Worf in the year 2369 . Clemens returned to his own time and did not reveal his knowledge of the existence of Klingons or other extraterrestrials to the public . ( ) Lily Sloane also met Worf in 2063 and remained silent about the encounter . ( ) In April of 2151 , a Klingon scout ship piloted by the courier Klaang was returning to Qo ' noS with evidence that the Suliban Cabal was responsible for recent internal strife within the Klingon Empire . Klaang was pursued by members of the cabal and crash - landed on Earth in Broken Bow , Oklahoma . Though Klaang managed to dispatch his pursuers , he was shot by a Human farmer named . Against the urgings of the Vulcans , Starfleet launched its first warp five vessel to return the wounded Klaang to Qo ' noS . ( ) This first contact with the Empire was considered a disastrous event that led to decades of war . Based on this bad experience , it was decided to conduct surveillance on new races before making contact . ( ) Human - Andorian first contact . The first contact between Humans and Andorian s occurred in June of 2151 at the Vulcan monastery of P ' Jem . The Andorian Empire had at the time sent officer s of the Andorian Imperial Guard to the monastery . They suspected that the Vulcan High Command had constructed a listening post at the monastery to spy on the Andorians , in violation of a treaty between the two powers . The Andorians , led by Commander Shran , believed the " Enterprise " was a supply vessel for the listening post and took the landing party prisoner . After the listening post deep below the monastery was discovered , Captain Archer allowed the Andorians to leave with proof of the listening post . The incident caused a temporary strain on Earth - Vulcan relations , particularly after the Andorians later destroyed the monastery and listening post . It was however , the beginning of a long - standing alliance between Earth and Andoria and a personal friendship between Archer and Commander Shran . ( ) Human - Akaali first contact . First contact with the Akaali was made by " Enterprise " NX - 01 in 2151 . It was significant in that it was the first Human - initiated first contact . Despite the Vulcan advice not to contact the primitive Akaali homeworld , Captain Archer took a landing party to the surface . In doing so , the " Enterprise " uncovered a covert mining operation by the Malurian s . ( ) Federation - Gorn first contact . First contact with the Gorn occurred in 2267 , when they attacked the Federation colony on Cestus III . The Gorn saw the strike as a preemptive move , since they regarded the Cestus system as part of their territory . ( ) James T . Kirk was the first Federation officer to physically confront a Gorn following his pursuit of their vessel in response to the attack on Cestus III . This pursuit attracted the attention of the Metron s , a highly advanced race who opposed conflict within their territory . They transported Kirk and the Gorn captain to a prepared planet and forced them to battle there . This deed was meant as a punishment , but ultimately , Kirk spared the Gorn captain ; the mercy displayed by Kirk ' s refusal caused the observing Metron to think of the conflict as a test , which Humans had passed . ( ) Federation - Ferengi Alliance first contact . First contact with the Ferengi took place in multiple phases . The very first contact between Humans and Ferengi actually occurred in 1947 in the Roswell Incident . Although the aliens were identified as Ferengi and their physiology was examined , knowledge of the incident was suppressed and never became public knowledge . ( ) In 2151 , the " Enterprise " NX - 01 was boarded by a single Ferengi ship , sedating the entire crew , except for Commander Tucker . The Ferengi never identified themselves as such . ( ) In 2355 , the encountered a vessel of unknown origin in the Maxia Zeta system , a system the Ferengi had claimed as part of their territory . The Federation was unaware of the claim at the time . Combat between the two vessels ensued , and it was here that Captain Jean - Luc Picard employed the Picard Maneuver to confuse and destroy the Ferengi ship . The " Stargazer " also took heavy damage and had to be abandoned by its crew following the incident , and the enemy ship was not officially identified as a Ferengi vessel until 2364 . ( ) Determinate first contact between the Ferengi Alliance and the United Federation of Planets occurred in 2364 in the Delphi Ardu system , where a Ferengi starship and the were trapped in orbit by a derelict outpost of the ancient Tkon Empire . Prior to this , only conflicting hearsay and third hand reports were known by Federation scholars regarding the Ferengi . It was known for sure only that the Ferengi were ruthless traders . ( ) Contact between the Ferengi Alliance and the Federation steadily increased to a level of significance , and only minor conflicts ensued from then on . ( , etc . ) Federation - Borg first contact . The first contact between Humans and the Borg occurred in 2063 during the Borg temporal incursion to prevent the Human - Vulcan first contact . Lily Sloane was the only Human of that era to witness the Borg , though many saw the Borg sphere in orbit in the night sky over Bozeman , Montana attempting to bomb the " Phoenix " missile silo . Borg drone s from the sphere were found in a debris field in 2153 , where they were revived by a survey crew who weren ' t aware of the danger the drones posed . These drones assimilated the survey crew , along with their research vessel , " Arctic One " , and escaped into space , where they immediately attempted to contact the Collective . These Borg were later intercepted and destroyed by the crew of , but not before they were able to send a subspace communication deep into the Delta Quadrant . They didn ' t identify themselves during the later encounter , and it is unknown if Starfleet was aware of their true identity . ( ; ) Formal first contact with the Borg was forced upon the Federation by the entity known as Q , a member of the Q Continuum in 2365 in system J - 25 . ( ) ( See also : Borg first contact ) Federation - Wadi first contact . A Vulcan ship traveling through the Gamma Quadrant encountered a Wadi starship , initiating first contact . An official meeting was developed in 2369 between the Wadi and the United Federation of Planets , with the meeting to occur on Deep Space 9 . The Wadi starship with their representative Falow arrived at the station , marking the first Gamma Quadrant delegation to arrive in the Alpha Quadrant . Commander Benjamin Sisko led the contact , however , Falow and his crew were more interested in the gaming available in the Alpha Quadrant rather than an official meeting . ( ) Federation - Dominion first contact . The Ferengi were the first Alpha Quadrant species to learn of the existence of the Dominion , which was achieved through business dealings with a Gamma Quadrant race called the Dosi . The Federation then heard more about the Dominion when Skrreea n refugees came through the Bajoran wormhole , having escaped when the Dominion had conquered the Skreeans ' oppressors , the T - Rogoran s . Following the Skreeans ' exodus , Odo and Jadzia Dax later learned that the Dominion had conquered the Yaderan s in 2340 . The first official contact between the Federation and the Dominion came in late 2370 , when Benjamin Sisko and Quark were taken prisoner on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant by the Jem ' Hadar . Starfleet tasked the under the command of Captain Keogh , with going through to the Gamma Quadrant , and locating Commander Sisko . During this rescue attempt , the " Odyssey " was rammed and destroyed by the Jem ' Hadar , as they were retreating back through the wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant , marking an end to one of most disastrous first contacts in Starfleet history . ( ) Bajor - Cardassia first contact . Ancient Bajoran s first established contact between Bajor and Cardassia through the use of a Bajoran lightship . Although traveling at sublight speeds , the ship was eventually propelled by a tachyon eddy to speeds equivalent to warp , enabling the ship to bypass the hazards of the Denorios belt . Cardassian archaeologists claim that the vessel ' s remnants were discovered on Cardassia Prime in 2371 , coinciding with the arrival of Benjamin and Jake Sisko on a replica lightship , though apparently Cardassia had been unofficially aware of them for some time by that point . Cardassians had previously dismissed Bajoran claims of first contact as a " fairy tale " , disputing that Bajorans achieved interstellar flight first . ( ) Vulcan - Klingon first contact . A disastrous first contact between the Vulcan s and the Klingon s was made at the planet H ' atoria in the year 2016 , which resulted in the destruction of a Vulcan starship . The Vulcan starship ' s attempt to peacefully hail the Klingons was seen as a sign of weakness and an invitation to attack , and the Klingons made no attempt to contact the Vulcans . Yet the Vulcans were not to make the same mistake twice : in subsequent encounters with Klingon vessels , Vulcan starships adopted a shoot - on - sight policy . Eventually , this policy worked : the Klingons were a warrior race who respect strength , and were only willing to communicate with the Vulcans on even terms once they had proven themselves . Nonetheless , relations between the Vulcans and Klingons remained tense afterwards . ( )