what alien race did they make contact on first on star trek

Quick Scoop

The first alien race humanity made official, recorded contact with in Star Trek is the Vulcans —specifically on April 5, 2063 , in Bozeman, Montana, after Zefram Cochrane’s warp flight attracted the attention of the Vulcan survey ship T’Plana-Hath.

This event is celebrated across the Federation as First Contact Day and serves as a foundational moment in human history, directly leading to the formation of the United Federation of Planets.

But Wait—Was It Really the First?

Here’s where Star Trek gets deliciously complicated. While the Vulcan handshake is the “textbook” first contact, the franchise has explored several earlier encounters—some canonical, some speculative, some caused by time travel or omni-being interventions.

Technically Earlier Encounters

• The Borg (via time travel) : In the movie Star Trek: First Contact , the Borg travel back in time to 2063 to prevent humanity’s warp breakthrough. A human named Lilly Sloane interacts with the Borg before the Vulcans arrive—making her arguably the first human to meet an alien species, albeit under hostile circumstances.

• Q and the Primordial Human : In Star Trek: The Next Generation (“All Good Things…”), Q takes Picard back to the dawn of life on Earth, where a gelatinous alien entity observes early proto-humans. This is considered by some as the very first ‘contact’ with an alien intelligence, though not in any diplomatic or communicative sense.

• Pre-Warp Visitors : Various episodes and novels suggest that aliens like the Preservers , Guides , and even Romulans may have visited or influenced Earth prior to 2063—but these are either non-canon, obliquely referenced, or involve covert observation rather than open contact.

Why the Vulcan Contact Matters

The Vulcan-first-contact narrative isn’t just lore—it’s symbolic. It reflects Star Trek’s core ideals:

• Peaceful outreach : The Vulcans came in curiosity, not conquest.
• Scientific milestone : Humanity had just achieved warp capability, signaling readiness for星际 society.
• Cultural turning point : The event ended Earth’s post-WWIII isolationism and launched a new era of exploration and unity.

TL;DR

• Officially : Vulcans, April 5, 2063, Bozeman, Montana ✅
• Technically (via time travel) : Borg, moments before the Vulcans ⚠️
• Philosophically/primordially : Q’s alien observer at life’s dawn 🌀
• In-universe celebration : First Contact Day honors the Vulcan meeting as the meaningful beginning.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.