Laboratory

The Century Class has been designed with exploratory missions as a priority. To accomplish this discovery-oriented role, 30 separate scientific research labs have been installed aboard the vessel. Typically, laboratories aboard Starfleet vessels rarely remained assigned to the same scientific discipline for more than six months; however, based upon long-term research, the Enterprise was designed to feature several laboratories for long periods.

Airponics Bay

The Airponics Bay (sometimes called the Greenhouse) aboard the Starship Enterprise is a specialized laboratory that facilitates the growth of plants in inhospitable environments.

The Airponics Bay features variable environmental controls that combine specialized airponic and hydroponic equipment. The airponics equipment utilizes suspended growing mediums to cultivate plants and fungi while the hydroponics equipment grows plants in a non-soil medium.

The main goal of the Airponics Bay was to provide edible vegetation that might alleviate the drain on energy resources caused by replicating food aboard a starship. In addition to standard fruits and vegetables, the Airponics Bay on the Enterprise also incorporates Antarian Moon Blossoms, Bantan (a spicy vegetable brought from the Delta Quadrant by Voyager) and Tamarian Defrin Root. With the presence of a swamps area beneath the Airponics Bay special precautions have been taken due to the high levels of ambient nitrous oxide needed by the Defrin Root.

Anomaly Storage Room

The Anomaly Storage Room (also called the Anomaly Room) was a specialized compartment on Federation Century Class starships where objects awaiting further study or return to their previous entities were stored. Access to the Anomaly Storage Room was restricted to Lieutenants (Junior Grade) or higher, due to the dangerous nature of the objects stored there.

Located on Deck 21 of the Stardrive Section, the Anomaly Storage Room was a converted Cargo Bay. The upper level of the room was located on Deck 20 and featured a small control room that overlooked the room. To better protect the crew, the Anomaly Room was fitted with a Cargo Transporter that could be used to transport an anomaly from the vessel without risking exposure to the crew. Anti-gravity units and Tractor Beam Generators were fitted to assist in moving large containers, while airlock doors were present to allow the room to be opened into space.

Arboretum

The Arboretum aboard the Starship Enterprise is a botanical garden composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species from multiple worlds. One of the largest locations aboard the Enterprise, the Arboretum has multiple functions aboard the starship and is considered both a recreation area where crewmembers could relax and as an area of scientific research. Further, due to the presence of a variety of plant life within the compartment, the Arboretum supplements the life-support systems of the Enterprise and assists in maintaining atmosphere aboard the craft.

When new personnel were assigned to the Enterprise the arboretum was one of the locations that they were given a tour of by their Department Head. Focusing on low-intensity recreation, the Arboretum emphasizes an open-space plan that includes rustic picnic areas, benches, and trails. Currently, the Enterprise's Arboretum features a small pond and different types of plant life, including Cypirion cactus and roses, which includes endangered plant-life varieties. Among the most prized flora within the Enterprise's Arboretum is a Beauregard Weeper from the planet Zeta Reticuli A, a descendant of the same species as "Gertrude" of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701.

Cetacean Ops

Cetacean Ops is a research facility aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise that specializes in stellar research and navigation. The largest scientific research center aboard the Enterprise, Cetacean Ops comprises an aquarium center (referred to as the "Lagoon") used by various cetacean crewmembers and a collaboration area used by humanoid personnel to interact with the cetaceans.

The cetacean area of the Cetacean Ops compound was submerged in water and featured a specialized navigation lab, crew quarters, and four cetacean lifeboats that spanned multiple decks. Humanoid personnel operating in Cetacean ops can choose to interact with aquatic personnel in one of two ways. By visiting the surface collaboration area, personnel first pass through an entrance hall that provides information on the evolution of marine life on Federation's Founding Worlds and then opens into a large chamber that incorporates a moon pool allowing entry into the lagoon. Workstations line the moon pool for use by the cetacean crewmembers, as well as standard wall mounted consoles available to the humanoid visitors. A nearby maintenance room allows access to the machinery that maintains the lagoon.

For enhanced collaboration, environmental suits were available for personnel to wear to enter the lagoon to interact with the cetaceans one on one. The subaquatic collaboration area allows for humanoid personnel to work directly with aquatic crewmembers from workstations built directly into the lagoon. Large table-based workstations were provided with seats and appropriate computer terminals for use by both aquatics and humanoids.

Engineering Laboratory

For more information on the Engineering Laboratories aboard the Enterprise, please visit U.S.S. Enterprise Engineering Section.

Laboratory (Configurable)

Century Class starships, like the Enterprise-H, have been equipped with thirty general-purpose Science Laboratories scattered throughout the vessel. Each Laboratory works in either experimental or observational science duties, providing personnel with controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement could be performed. Due to their design, each laboratory could concurrently execute multiple different experiments and investigations with minimal risk of interruption.

Due to the critical nature of the Science Labs and their operations, multiple safeguards are in place to protect the ship and crew from research projects run amok. Each laboratory features its own dedicated life-support connection and can be quickly isolated from the rest of the system in an emergency, should a viral outbreak be at risk. Forcefield generators are located within the bulkhead of each laboratory, offering the chance to isolate the lab from the rest of the ship should a threat emerge. In the event that a biological lifeform is able to escape from experimental confinement, anesthetic gas can be released to contain the sample. In a worst case scenario in which all other options have been exhausted, the laboratory can be vented into space.

Presently, Starfleet Sciences has authorized five basic laboratory compartments for usage aboard the Starship Enterprise. While each design has unique designs limiting access to some equipment between the modules, each laboratory does have some basic equipment that is ubiquitous among each design. Every laboratory aboard the Enterprise includes a large analysis table that can be used for detailed examination of a subject and can be isolated from the rest of the lab via forcefield in an emergency. Multiple workstations have been fitted throughout each lab for the usage of technicians during their studies, with the majority of the terminals built into the bulkheads and some incorporating secondary analysis tables to supplement the primary one. Located around the periphery of the room, multiple storage compartments house equipment and supplies for use by scientists.

Laboratories Types in Use on the U.S.S. Enterprise NX-1701-H
Type	Example Laboratory	Special Feature(s)	Laboratories of Type
1		None	Anthropology Laboratory Archaeology Laboratory General Science Laboratory Mathematics Laboratory
2		Large Holographic Tank	Astrophysics Laboratory Biometrics Laboratory Genetics Laboratory Physics Laboratory Meteorology Laboratory Planetology Laboratory Temporal Mechanics Laboratory
3		Isolation Room	Botany Laboratory Chemistry Laboratory Geology Laboratory Metallurgy Laboratory
4		Multiple Holographic Observation Cells	Biology Laboratory Cybernetics Laboratory Exo/Xenobiology Laboratory Zoology Laboratory
5		Large Holographic Tank Multi-Level	Astrometrics Stellar Cartography

Library Access Laboratory

Comprised of identical rooms in both the Primary and Secondary Hulls, the Library aboard the Enterprise is used for research purposes, supporting scholarly or scientific research aboard the vessel. Providing access to both physical and digital materials, including a collection of printed reference materials that may be utilized inside the premises, the Library offers a variety of options to researchers to obtain needed information.

Due to the ease of access to information within the galaxy, many may not know how to fully utilize library resources which may have an impact on use. To combat this, each Library is staffed by a Librarian, a specially trained research professional, to assist with research needs. To facilitate learning, each Library provides quiet space for private studying, common areas to facilitate group study and collaboration, and dedicated workstations allowing access to electronic resources through the Library Computer and the Starfleet Galactic Memory Bank at Memory Alpha.

Medical Laboratory

For more information on the Engineering Laboratories aboard the Enterprise, please visit U.S.S. Enterprise Medical Section.

U.S.S. Enterprise Science Section