Back كوبياشي مارو (ستار تريك) Arabic Kobayashi Maru Czech Kobayashi-Maru-Test German Κομπαγιάσι Μαρού Greek Kobayashi Maru Spanish Kobayashi Maru French קוביאשי מארו HE Test della Kobayashi Maru Italian コバヤシマル Japanese 코바야시 마루 Korean
The Kobayashi Maru is a fictional spacecraft training exercise in the Star Trek continuity. It is designed by Starfleet Academy to place Starfleet cadets in a no-win scenario. The Kobayashi Maru test was invented for the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and it has since been referred to and depicted in numerous other Star Trek media.
The nominal goal of the exercise is to rescue the civilian fuel ship Kobayashi Maru, which is damaged and stranded in neutral territory between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The cadet being evaluated must decide whether to attempt to rescue the Kobayashi Maru—endangering their ship and crew—or leave the Kobayashi Maru to certain destruction. If the cadet chooses to attempt a rescue, an insurmountable enemy force attacks their vessel. It is described as testing the character of cadets rather than their actual skills, acclimating them to the emotional toll of defeat. A key plot point of many depictions is James T. Kirk becoming the only cadet to rescue the Kobayashi Maru by hacking the simulation instead.
The phrase "Kobayashi Maru" has entered the popular lexicon as a reference to a no-win scenario. The term is also sometimes used to invoke Kirk's decision to "change the conditions of the test."