The Nowhere Plateau

Where was the Enterprise-D built?

That’s right: The Utopia Planitia Shipyards on and above Mars.

I remembered that from the Next Gen series, and I figured that it was a real place on Mars (left).

What I didn’t remember was where this real place was: The location where the Viking 2 Mars lander set down in 1976.

HERE’S AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE PLACE.

Thinking about this got me thinking about the languages involved in the name Utopia Planitia. In violation of a common naming rule, this designation involves a mix of Greek and Latin.

The term utopia, invented by St. Thomas More, is from Greek. As you likely know, it means "nowhere" or "no place." In Greek, it’s ou ("no") + topos ("place").

But planitia is Latin-derived. Despite the sound of the word, planitia does not mean "planet."

It means "plateau."

Utopia Planitia is thus "the Nowhere Plateau."

The alternative term to planitia is planum, which means "plain." They also have those on Mars. For example, in Syria Planum (southeast of the Martian volcano Olympus Mons or "Mt. Olympus") they have a large PsiCorp facility.

But that’s another story . . .

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live." View all posts by Jimmy Akin