The Martian soundtrack
Columbia Records releases the soundtrack from the 2015 science fiction movie The Martian by Harry Gregson-Williams.
Soyuz TMA-16
Part of the 21st full-time crew of the International Space Station lifts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Soyuz TMA-16. Maksim Surayev and Jeffrey Williams take up residence on the ISS for 168 days, becoming part of the Expedition 21 crew. Joining them for the flight to the ISS is Canadian space tourist and Cirque de Soleil CEO Guy Laliberté, who visits the station for ten days before returning to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-14 with members of the Expedition 19/20 crew. As with other space tourists before him, he pays for his own Soyuz seat and space training, but the impending retirement of the space shuttle fleet puts an end to Soyuz space tourism for several years after this flight.
Galileo and the battery acid of Europa
A long-standing mystery of one of the moons of Jupiter is solved, opening many more questions. Data gathered by the Galileo unmanned orbiter reveals that a previously unidentifiable substance on Europa’s surface is sulfuric acid, a compound used as battery acid on Earth. Scientists quickly split into two camps on the origins of the acid: it may be welling up from inside Europa, or it may be volcanic material ejected from Io and then deposited on Europa as the moons’ orbits occasionally bring them into conjunction. Though the presence of sulfuric acid initially dashes hopes of finding life on Europa, the possibility is not completely ruled out by this finding.
The Cape: Just A Rumor
The fourth episode of the science fiction series The Cape premieres in syndication in North America, starring Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) and Adam Baldwin, and focusing on a fictionalized version of NASA’s shuttle program.
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Xena: Orphan Of War
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 25th episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, opening the show’s second season.
International Ultraviolet Explorer shuts down
Launched in 1978 as a joint venture between NASA and ESA, the unmanned International Ultraviolet Explorer is commanded to exhaust its remaining fuel and cease all contact with Earth. Though its detectors and other instruments are still functioning well after 18 years in orbit, its stabilization gyros have failed one by one until the satellite is unable to be aimed at deep space targets with any accuracy. IUE remains powered down, adrift in a geosynchronous orbit.
Star Trek: DS9: Apocalypse Rising
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 97th episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the beginning of the series’ fifth season. Robert O’Reilly guest stars; J.G. Hertzler makes his first appearance as General Martok.
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine now streaming on Paramount Plus
Babylon 5: Walkabout
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 62nd episode of J. Michael Straczynski’s science fiction series Babylon 5. Erica Gimpel (Fame, ER) guest stars.
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Babylon 5 now streaming on Amazon Prime
The X-Files: Blood
The 27th episode of Chris Carter’s modern-day science fiction series The X-Files airs on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, and Mitch Pileggi. William Sanderson (Blade Runner) guest stars.
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STS-68
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off on the shuttle program’s 65th mission. The eleven-day flight is a second round of space radar experiments, using a cargo-bay-mounted radar system that flew earlier in 1994 aboard Endeavour. The crew for this flight consists of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Terrence Wilcutt, Payload Commander Thomas Jones, and mission specialists Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch and Peter Wisoff.
Star Trek: TNG: Darmok
The week-long national syndication window opens for the 101st episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Paul Winfield (Star Trek II) and Ashley Judd guest star.
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Star Trek: The Next Generation now streaming on Paramount Plus
Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast
Manimal
The first episode of Glen A. Larson’s superhero series Manimal premieres on NBC, starring Simon MacCorkindale (Quatermass, Falcon Crest), Melody Anderson (Flash Gordon), and Michael D. Roberts (Baretta, The First Family). Terry Kiser (Weekend At Bernie’s) guest stars in the series premiere, concerning a man who has the ability to shapeshift into any animal.
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Super Zaxxon
Desperately trying to keep its coin-op games fresh, Sega releases the arcade game conversion kit Super Zaxxon. The kit updates Zaxxon machines with new graphics and levels, giving arcade operators the chance to put a “new” machine in circulation without purchasing an entire new cabinet.
Battlezone
Atari releases the arcade game Battlezone in the United States, bringing back Tank’s double joysticks but putting the player in the tank in a first-person perspective (complete with “shattered glass” is enemy artillery takes the player’s tank out of commission).
War Of Nerves
Magnavox releases the video game cartridge War Of Nerves for the Odyssey2 video game system, designed and programmed by Ed and Linda Averett. With an emphasis on giving orders to a robot army not directly under the player’s micro-managed control, this may be the earliest example of a real-time strategy video game.
Jason Of Star Command: A Cry For Help
CBS airs the fourth episode of the Space Academy spinoff series Jason Of Star Command, starring Craig Littler, Sid Haig, and James Doohan (Star Trek).
Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet, Part 1
The 484th episode of Doctor Who airs on BBC1, continuing the Key To Time storyline. This is the first Doctor Who script written by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy). Bruce Purchase guest stars.
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Wonder Woman: The Man Who Could Move The World
The 16th episode of Wonder Woman airs on CBS, starring Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner. Yuki Shimoda and Lew Ayres guest star. 
Logan’s Run: Capture
CBS airs the third episode of the TV adaptation of Logan’s Run. Mary Woronov guest stars.
Gemini Man: The Minotaur
NBC airs the second episode of Gemini Man, starring Ben Murphy, Katherine Crawford, and William Sylvester (2001: a space odyssey). Ross Martin (The Wild Wild West) guest stars.
A boy, a girl, and a galaxy
On or around this date in 1976, the very first teaser trailers for an upcoming 20th Century Fox movie called Star Wars is shown in theaters for the first time, with the ominous voice of Malachi Throne (who had, coincidentally, appeared or done voice-overs numerous times in classic Star Trek) declaring that “somewhere in space, this may all be happening right now.” With no hint of the genre-defining soundtrack music, unfinished visual effects, stand-in stock sound effects, and a logo rendered in Helvetica, the effect is perhaps a bit underwhelming.
Themisto
Astronomers catch fleeting glimpses of a new natural satellite of Jupiter, Themisto, though the initial estimates of its orbit are “off” enough that Themisto becomes “lost” and isn’t observed again until 2000. With a diameter of roughly five miles, Themisto marks the dividing line between the larger inner moons of Jupiter and the widely-scattered menagerie of asteroid-like outer moons orbiting the planet. Astronomers Elizabeth Roemer and Charles Kowal (who discovered another new Jovian moon in 1974) share credit for discovering the moon. Themisto is the last Jovian satellite to be discovered by ground-based telescope in the 20th century.
Moonbase 3: Outsiders
The fourth episode of the BBC’s short-lived science fiction series Moonbase 3 premieres. Garrick Hagon (Star Wars) guest stars.
The Evil Touch: Dr. McDermitt’s New Patients
The third episode of the horror anthology series The Evil Touch airs on Australia’s Nine Network, hosted by Anthony Quayle (Strange Report). (The series will later appear in the U.S. and elsewhere in first-run syndication.) Kim Hunter (Planet Of The Apes) guest stars.
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The Sixth Sense: Dear Joan, We’re Going To Scare You To Death
The 15th episode of The Sixth Sense airs on ABC, starring Gary Collins. Joan Crawford guest stars in what would prove to be her final on-screen role.
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Ace Of Wands: The Smile, Part 1
ITV airs the tenth episode of Ace Of Wands, starring Michael McKenzie, Tony Selby and Judy Loe. This episode, like the rest of the series’ first two seasons, is now missing from the archives.
UFO: The Cat With Ten Lives
The third episode of Gerry Anderson’s live-action UFO series airs on ITV, starring Edward Bishop and Michael Billington. Wanda Ventham, Lois Maxwell, and Alexis Kanner (The Prisoner) guest star.
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UFO now streaming on Amazon Prime
The Immortal
The pilot movie The Immortal premieres as ABC’s Movie of the Week, starring Christopher George, Jessica Walter, and Barry Sullivan. Based on the James Gunn science fiction novel The Immortals, published five years earlier, the movie leads to a weekly series a year later.
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The Avengers: Return Of The Cybernauts
British broadcaster ABC airs the 121st episode of the spy-fi series The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. Peter Cushing (Star Wars, Dr. Who And The Daleks) guest stars.
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The Avengers now streaming on Amazon Prime
Journey To The Center Of The Earth: Creatures Of The Swamp
ABC broadcasts the fourth episode of the Filmation animated series Journey To The Center Of The Earth, very loosely based on the 1959 movie of the same name. Ted Knight, Pat Harrington Jr., and Jane Webb lead the voice cast.
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