Renée Picard’s Europa mission is the reason Star Trek as we know exists and here’s why

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 introduced the audience to one of the more significant names in space exploration, Renée Picard (played by Penelope Mitchell).

In the season, the future of Starfleet depends on the success of Renée Picard’s Europa Mission, where she will discover sentient microorganisms on Jupiter’s moon, which will stop Earth from ecological destruction in the future.

In season 2 of Picard, Q (played by John de Lancie) changes the timeline, in which Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart) and his friends find themselves under the evil regime of the Confederation. They travel back to 2024 to fix the timeline by ensuring that Renée Picard is successful in her mission and thus ensuring that Starfleet and the Federation exist. Renée also happens to be Jean-Luc’s great aunt, making the whole adventure more interesting.

Significance of Renée Picard’s Europa mission in Star Trek

In season 2 of Star Trek: Picard, Q sends Picard and his friends to an alternate timeline where the United Federation of Planets does not exist and in its place is the totalitarian regime known as the Confederation of Earth.

To change this reality, Picard and friends must fix an event from the past, leading them to Renée Picard in 2024 in Los Angeles. However, a Romulan supervisor referred to as the ‘Watcher’ is already keeping an eye on Renée. It is understood that the Europa Mission, which will be Earth’s most significant space exploration assignment, will have a great impact on the Star Trek timeline and history.

Meanwhile, Dr. Adam Soong (played by Brent Spiner), a well-known geneticist who was barred because of his illegal experiments, learns that if Renée is successful in her mission, his work will never see the light of day. He takes it upon himself to stop her. If Dr. Soong succeeds, the future will be ruled by the evil Confederation.

From thwarting drone attacks to preventing a plot to kill Renée, Picard and his friends manage to help her go on the mission.

On Jupiter’s moon Io, Renée Picard would discover a sentient microorganism. This is a significant discovery, as at the time, the planet was heading to a devastating war.

In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Christopher Pike (played by Anson Mount) will speak about World War III that will begin in 2026 (two years after the Europa Mission) and end in 2053. The nuclear bombs will cause destruction that will have a lasting effect on Earth’s ecosystem. But Renée’s discovery will help heal the Earth.

Cristóbal Rios’ (played by Santiago Cabrera) adopted son, Ricardo, will team up with Earth’s brightest minds to use Renée’s discovery to clean the oceans and the skies. In 2063, humans go on to make the first contact with Vulcans and later form the United Federation of Planets.

The season explores Picard’s life in detail, with Renée’s story running parallelly. It is established that Renée holds an extremely important role in Star Trek history as she is the key to stopping the future from going bleak under the Confederation.

Also Read: Whoopi Goldberg’s heartwarming return to the world of Star Trek is a treat for TNG fans

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