Praxis Praxis was a natural moon of the Klingon homeworld , Qo ' noS . It was the only moon of that planet and was inhabited . Praxis was used as the Klingon Empire ' s key energy - production facility in the 23rd century . ( ; ; ; ) History . In 2293 , Praxis was destroyed in a large explosion caused by over - mining and insufficient safety precautions . The explosion caused a powerful subspace shock wave and deadly pollution of Qo ' noS ' ozone , threatening the depletion of the oxygen in that planet ' s atmosphere within approximately fifty Earth years . Returning from a mission in the Beta Quadrant , the experienced the shock wave and determined that Praxis had exploded . They offered assistance , but were denied . Praxis ' destruction resulted in significant political change , as the Empire had to divert resources from their vast military budget to address the environmental change . Chancellor Gorkon realized that they could not afford hostilities with the and approached the Federation with an overture of peace . This set into motion a series of events , eventually resulting in a lasting peace between the Federation and the Empire through the Khitomer Accords . ( ; ) Appendices . Background information . The explosion of Praxis was loosely based on the , one of several factors leading to the breakdown of the Soviet Union . ( " " , pp . 137 - 138 ) Likewise , the word " Praxis " is employed in the writings of , meaning active rather than merely theoretical socialism . Praxis ' destruction in " Star Trek VI " ( particularly its placement at the start of the film ) was influenced by a clap of thunder that begins " Macbeth " . In the playwright workshop at the , Nicholas Meyer ( who co - wrote the screenplay of " Star Trek VI " and directed the film ) learned it was a very effective method of attracting an audience ' s attention to the story . ( audio commentary , DVD ) In a scripted line not included in the actual film , Praxis was to have been established as having no indigenous lifeforms . In the script of " Flashback " ( both the first draft and the final draft of the teleplay ) , Praxis was at first referred to as " the primary source of energy for the Klingon Homeworld . " On screen , however , Tuvok instead says this line slightly differently , referring to Praxis as merely " a primary source of energy for the Klingon Homeworld , " which is also how the closed captioning notates the line . According to " " ( p . 61 ) and " " ( " Federation Historical Highlights , 2161 - 2385 " ) , there was a star system named Praxis , in which the moon might possibly have been located , in the Beta Quadrant . The system ' s primary was a . However , the latter source contradicts itself , for in " Stellar Cartography " ( pp . 28 , 30 ) , Praxis was located in the Qo ' noS system , as the moon of Qo ' noS . Praxis has become the namesake of the , the distinctive type of special effect in which a space explosion produces two - dimensional waves . Apocrypha . In the " " story " The Chimes at Midnight " , set in an alternate timeline ( specifically , one from in which Spock died as a child ) , Praxis is chosen by Thelin in 2290 as the test site for the Genesis Device ( which in this timeline had led to full - scale war ) , both as a demonstration of force and because , with nearly all of its inhabitants living in areas either underground or shielded , there would be little or no loss of life . The action forces the Klingons to surrender ; unfortunately , the Genesis Wave overwhelms most shields and reaches below the ground , and of the population of half a million , only 2 , 000 survive . However , during peace negotiations , it is discovered that Genesis actually " saved " the moon , as the explosion which occurred in the prime universe had been inevitable within a year before the wave had strengthened the planet and put an end to the mining that would eventually destroy it . In the novel " " by A . C . Crispin , in addition to polluting Qo ' noS ' atmosphere , Praxis ' explosion has created a ring of debris around the planet that subjects the surface to constant , and sometimes deadly , meteor showers , which also makes space traffic to and from the planet extremely dangerous – another reason why the planet is becoming uninhabitable . In " Star Trek Online " , Praxis is presented as the former moon of Qo ' noS . After events that occur prior to the year 2409 broke the Khitomer Accords , mining on the remnants of Praxis renewed . The remnants of Praxis orbiting Qo ' noS are collectively referred to as the Praxis Belt .