One Small Step   

A Chakotay story, with heavy support from Tuvok, that's all about his roots and what drove him as a young man. One Small Step is an homage to the space program and the Mars mission. It tells the story of one of the first manned missions to Mars and how the U.S.S. Voyager encounters evidence of this lost mission. The crew builds a Mars command module for this episode, making it as detailed and accurate as possible based on NASA's projections of what manned Mars missions might involve.   When asked what inspired the writers of Voyager to do a show about a future Mars mission writer Bryan Fuller said, "We decided to focus on the what the next big conquest is in space which is obviously Mars. I don't think there's a person working on Star Trek: Voyager that isn't a fan of the space program. We're all anxious to see the next steps taken. The episode is our way to nudge the American public and remind them of the importance of space exploration and its impact on the collective future of the planet."   Strangely this episode reflects the real world with NASA reporting last week that their Mars Climate Observer was lost in what appeared to be a navigational malfunction. Read more about this coincidence here.   Senior Illustrator Rick Sternbach: "One Small Step looks like it'll be a keeper. We got to design a complete Mars orbiter ship inside and out, right down to the null-g handrails.