*Extravehicular transport to and from the U.S.S. Enterprise is accomplished by an advanced molecular transporter system, capable of moving personnel or cargo at ranges of up to 40,000 kilometers. Basically, the transporter beam converts matter into energy, "beams" that energy to a fixed point, then restores the energy back into its matter form. Since the U.S.S. Enterprise cannot normally enter the atmosphere of a planet, the transporter is an essential tool for the crew's planetary missions. Personnel transporters incorporate a bio-scanner and filter to detect most viruses, bacteria and alien matter that might accidentally be picked up by crew members on an Away Mission. *Source: Back of card