Ardana Ardana was an inhabited planet orbit ing the primary , in the Beta Quadrant . This was the homeworld for the Ardanan s , a warp - capable species . The planet was a Federation member . It was in the same quadrant as Merak II . Ardana was the only known planet that mined zenite . Prior to stardate 5818 , this planet was united under an uniglobal government . The capital city of this world was the elevated metropolis Stratos . The civilization of Ardana was divided into two castes , a labor class of Troglyte s and an intellectual ruling class of Stratos city - dwellers . The caste system was riven with conflict . This world was admitted to the Federation . Upon being admitted as a member , it was expected that Ardana would live up to its obligations in helping another member . Despite its membership in the Federation , Ardana employed torture and capital punishment . In 2269 , Ardana ' s obligations as a member were threatened by a rebellion . In that year , the came to obtain zenite for use to prevent a bacteria l botanical plague on Merak II . Captain James T . Kirk of the " Enterprise " successfully quelled a rebellion by the Troglytes against the city - dwellers on the planet , while at the same time procuring a consignment of zenite for transport to Merak II . ( ; ) Background information . According to , , and the " " ( p . 53 ) , Ardana was a class M planet . For the pre - remastered episode , the planet model for Ardana was first used for Delta Vega . ( ) It was used again for Alfa 177 , ( M - 113 , ( Tantalus V , ( ) Planet Q , ( ) Benecia , ( ) Gothos , ( ) Lazarus ' planet , ( ) Beta III , ( ) Janus VI , ( ) Organia , ( ) Mudd , ( ) and Argus X . ( ) For the remastered episode , a new planet model was created by CGI artist Max Gabl . The planet ' s appearance was based on a NASA satellite photograph of . According to , Ardana ' s policies of caste system oppression , executing political dissidents , and public torture would be in direct contradiction to Federation guidelines established by the 2370s for practices accepted by its member worlds . According to the " Star Trek : Star Charts " ( p . 53 ) , Ardana ( Mu Leonis A III ) was governed by the Plutocracy of Ardana from the capital city of Stratos . The dominant species were the humanoid Stratos dwellers and the Troglytes . Major points of interest were Stratos City and the Troglyte Mining Museum . After achieving warp capability in 2259 , Ardana was admitted to the Federation in 2263 . Six years later , reunification of the society began with the aid of the crew of the USS " Enterprise " . In the census of 2370 , there were 58 . 7 million Stratos dwellers and 9 . 2 billion Troglytes living on the planet . This planet was located in the Ardana ( Rasalas , Mu Leonis ) system . According to the " The Worlds of the Federation ( p . 50 ) " , the star that Ardana orbit ed was named Mu Leonis A , Ardana being its third planet . Organia , the primary of Ardana , was located in the Alpha Quadrant on a star chart seen in the episode . From the , " " The view of the Ardanian landscape directly below Stratos was a NASA photograph of the dry river basin in southern Saudia Arabia as seen from space , taken by the crew of in 1965 . Many years later , when CBS remastered the original series , space historian went to NASA headquarters in Washington , DC , to locate the original image so that the scene could be properly re - created in HD . ( Thanks , Dr . Day ! ) " " Apocrypha . According to the mirror universe novel " The Mirror - Scaled Serpent " , Ardana was a Terran Empire planet until it was conquered by the Klingon - Cardassian Alliance in the late 23rd century . The half - Klingon , half - Terran B ' Elanna was the Intendant of Ardana in 2371 .