Jupiter

The Class J planet Jupiter is the fifth planet of the Sol system, and is one of four gas giants in the system. Jupiter is surrounded by 63 moons, however most of them are the size of asteroids.

History
The first Earth probe to visit Jupiter was the Pioneer 10 in 1973, and that was soon followed by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probe in 1979, as these probes moved into the outer Sol system. In 1982, the probe Galileo was the first probe to descend into Jupiter's atmosphere, and sent back the first reports on the atmosphere to Earth. By the mid-2000s, humans were moving out into the system and conducted the first manned mission.

In the 2020s, the exploration of Jupiter's atmosphere continued when three atmospheric probes were sent into the Red Spot. The information was sent back to Dr. Lloyd Elkins on Earth, and he summarised that the Spot was the result of Jupiter's inner core and not simply an atmospheric disturbance. (reference book: Spaceflight Chronology).

In 2063, it was Jupiter which was to play a part in first contact between humans and Vulcans. The Vulcan starship T'Plana-Hath was dispatched to chart potential wormhole eddies that could be created by Jupiter's interaction with Sol. While performing the survey, the T'Plana-Hath detected Zefram Cochrane's warp-ship, the Phoenix, traveling away from Earth at warp, and changed course to investigate. (TOS novel: Preserver).

As humanity moved out into space over the next century, Jupiter's moons became home to human colonies, and Jupiter soon became the location of Jupiter Station, a Federation scientific facility which designed and experimented with the latest technologies. In the 24th century, Jupiter Station was home to Lewis Zimmerman who developed his Emergency Medical Hologram at the base. (VOY episodes: "Projections" and "Life Line"; and DS9 episode: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?").