The facility was built around 2368 by the Cymkonians when Cymkoe IV entered the Federation to show that they considered themselves worthy of membership. Named after the father of modern gravitation theory, Dr. Edwin Mertens, its objective was the focus of power generation studies particularly from gravitic sources. In 2365 they built the prototype of an experimental singularity-based power core which handled the station's energy needs. In addition to this, another more secret aim of the facility was the study of ways of detecting cloaked vessels.