When Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in 1987, it aired in the aftermath of an amazing collection of television specials concerning space exploration in 1986.
I'm still amazed at the variety of TV specials, not regularly scheduled programming, that presented the viewing public with thought provoking content.

Some of my favorite specials from 1986 have never been uploaded to YouTube. One was a partnership between PBS, the BBC, the ESA, and NASA; presenting the challenges of establishing a Moonbase and Martian colonies. I had never seen any TV program that used a visual format that turned my television screen into a computer desktop and used a cursor to click on which speaker would cover a particular topic. Maybe someday someone will upload a VCR copy of this show because I don't remember ever seeing the name of this special, I do remember how my TV screen went "black" as my television was reconfigured to look like an old style CRT computer monitor!

However, I'm happy to share the one 1986 special that made it to YouTube.

As my birthday gift to Retro-Daze, here is Part 4 of "The Great Space Race", to remind everyone just how new and exciting the prospects of space colonization can be, unless you see the price tag!
The Real Cost of space colonization exceeds all estimates of what humankind would have to face beyond an orbiting space station.

The retro-computer generated graphics make this video a real history find.