1966: a year of both extreme highs and lows in the pioneering field of space exploration, all seemingly at the same time.  Successes like the Lunar Orbiter 1, which became the first spacecraft to orbit another world on Aug. 10, and Gemini 12 astronauts James A. Lovell and Buzz Aldrin safely splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean on Nov.15 ... and tragedies such as the XB-70 Valkyrie prototype colliding with an F-104 Starfighter in midair, killing pilots Joseph A. Walker of NASA and Carl Cross of the Air Force.

It was also a year when one of science fiction's key influences emerged, finally bringing the genre closer to the mainstream audience thanks to a cowboy-style frontier adventure modeled on the popular Westerns of TV and movies of the time. Yes, Star Trek was one of the first science fiction series in mainstream media to address and counter racism, amid the more accepting mores of the time: its secondary characters included a Japanese helmsman, a Russian navigator and a black female communications officer, all working in harmony and equality.

It also addressed such issues through its storytelling, but always with twists to detach them from any modern tie-ins. As an example, the worst-case scenario of racism and its effects on society are examined in the episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield": two aliens from opposing sects of the same race who merely appear different are deadly enemies, one fighting for freedom from the other's tyranny. In the end, the two got back to their home planet to see that both sides of their society had wiped each other out from the planet. Tragically, the two continue their bitter fight and Kirk is forced to leave them to their own devices on their dead world.

Thus, the world of 1966 that first produced Star Trek was full of contrasts that would affect the science fiction world as we know it. Some people were living the ideals of exploration, both inward and outward, which have long been a theme in science fiction; others explored their own world, boldly going where no man has gone before. Some explored through travel and rocketry, while some explored through film and movie magic.