Athena (shuttle)

The Athena was an American space shuttle sent by NASA to Minerva in 1984 to make contact with the Minervans. It was crewed by three married couples: Emmett] and [[Louise Bragg, Frank and Pat Marquard, and Irv and Sarah Levitt. Emmett Bragg was the vessel's commander.

The ship landed in the Omalo domain-master Reatur's domain, near the site of the landing of the original Viking probe. The crew made contact with Reatur and developed good relations with him, helping his males repulse a Soviet-supported Skarmer invasion. The ship returned to Earth shortly afterward.