I think that the Star Trek franchise has a message that outer space will not be just like a "psychedelic experience," but will have a more mundane level to which we as ordinary folk can relate. Movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and more recently, Arrival, make aliens and outer space seem more highfaluting. I was born in the same year that Star Trek first appeared on television, so it must be important.
Source: tatoeba (10610544)