class M planet n.
an Earth-type planet
Associated chiefly with the US TV series Star Trek.
Memory Alpha
Star Trek
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?a1965 Original outline for ‘Star Trek’ in S. E. Whitfield & G. Roddenberry Making of ‘Star Trek’ (1968) i. i. 24
Gene Roddenberry
You will confine your landings and contacts to Class ‘M’ planets, approximating Earth-Mars conditions.
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1968 Errand of Mercy in J. Blish Star Trek 2 (1968) 41
Strategically it was the only Class M planet in the disputed zone.
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1980 Perry's Planet ii. 21
The planet he was referring to is a class M one.
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1999 My Brother’s Keeper ii. viii. 124
Michael Jan Friedman
bibliography
‘She’s class-M’, Lieutenant Lynch said of the red-orange world depicted on their main viewscreen.
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2021 Dark Veil 71
James Swallow
bibliography
The next nearest habitable Class-M planet is two light-years away, in the middle of the Neutral Zone.
Research requirements
any evidence 1964
Earliest cite
Gene Roddenbery
Research History
Suggested by Mike Christie on 9/15/02: "This is speculative since it may be just Star Trek, but googling '"class M planet" -trek' leads to quite a few hits."
Ben Ostrowsky submitted a 2021 cite from a Star Trek novel by James Swallow.
Last modified 2022-01-15 12:10:10
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