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Commander John Koenig
- Played by Martin Landau
- The Captain: He's the commander of Moonbase Alpha and all facets of its operation.
- Dark and Troubled Past: His wife died in an unspecified war in 1987.
- Good Is Not Nice: He has a bit of a ruthless streak, occasionally snapping orders at his subordinates, but he's just trying to do the best for Moonbase Alpha given their extraordinary situation. As he puts it in "The Exiles":"Must you always assume the worst? Yes, when the safety of Alpha is concerned."
- Meaningful Name: His surname derives from the German word for "king". Rather appropriate, seeing as he's Moonbase Alpha's commanding officer.
Dr. Helena Russell
- Played by Barbara Bain
- Dark and Troubled Past: Her husband Lee was killed in the ill-fated Astro 7 mission when the spacecraft became trapped in Jupiter's gravity and disintegrated in the planet's atmosphere.
- The Heart: She's the most compassionate and emotional member of the main cast.
- You Have Failed Me: She can often be hard on both her own failures and those of others, as shown in episodes such as "Missing Link" (where she chews herself out for failing to keep Koenig's life-signs stable) and "Guardian of Piri" (where she chews out Mathias for unknowingly allowing a crewmember to die when the transfusion blood supply is cut thanks to the influence of the Guardian on Alpha's main computer).
Professor Victor Bergman
- Played by Barry Morse
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears without explanation in the second season, though a deleted scene implies that he is killed by a malfunctioning spacesuit.
- Mentor Archetype: To Commander Koenig.
- Mr. Vice Guy: As shown in "Black Sun", he has a penchant for fine liquor and cigars.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He is seemingly expected to have answers to any conceivable scientific or philosophical question. He can almost always provide one as well, and if he can't, he will normally make an informed guess.
Maya
- Played by Catherine Schell
- Action Girl: She crosses into this occasionally, and not only when she shape-shifts, either.
- Hot Blooded Sideburns: A rare female example.
- Ms. Fanservice: She has quite a few fight scenes where she performs high kicks while wearing a skirt, showing a lot of leg and just barely avoiding outright upskirt shots. She also wears a dress with a Navel-Deep Neckline in her first appearance. Once she joins the crew she wears the same uniform as everybody else, of course.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Takes over this role from Prof. Bergman, but she usually limits herself to scientific questions and questions about other cultures. This is justified by her coming from an old, advanced civilization with a large knowledge base, and being much more intelligent than a typical human.
- Shapeshifting Sound: Always shapeshifts with a high-pitched metallic trilling sound effect.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Her home planet was destroyed at the end of her introductory episode.
Alan Carter
- Played by Nick Tate
- Awesome Aussie: He's Australian and Moonbase Alpha's best pilot.
- Captain Crash: Carter crashes his Eagle so frequently that if one is wrecked in an episode the fandom tongue-in-cheek refers to it as having been "Carter-ed". This is a little unfair as Commander Koenig crashes his just as often.
Sandra Benes
- Played by Zienia Merton
- Demoted to Extra: Over the course of the second season, she slowly fades from the limelight until she's eventually replaced by the suspiciously similar character Yasko (Yasuko Nagazumi).
- Race Lift: An unusual case. Although she's played by Zienia Merton in both seasons, she looks much more Asian in the second season (Merton was of mixed race and could pass as both European and Asian). In later episodes, her name has also changed from the Hungarian-sounding Sandra Benes to just Sahn.
- Sudden Name Change: She goes by the name Sandra Benes for the entire first season and the first episodes of the second season. After her absence from the cast for part of the second season, she is renamed to Sahn, with no explanation given. This could simply be a pet name for "Sandra", but in late season two episodes her name tag says "Sahn", with no surname. A possible explanation is that the producers wanted to portray her as an Asian rather than a European (Zienia Merton was half English, half Burmese and could pass as both).
Paul Morrow
- Played by Prentis Hancock
- Butt-Monkey: Often regarded as Alpha's "whipping boy" of sorts. He finds himself on the receiving end of several accidents and, on one notable occasion, freaks out while high on psychedelic mushrooms.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears without explanation in the second season, though a deleted scene implies that he and Kano are killed in an Eagle crash.
- Number One: For all intents and purposes, he is Moonbase Alpha's first officer and is fiercely loyal to Commander Koenig.
David Kano
- Played by Clifton Jones
- Black and Nerdy: Played by the Jamaican-born Clifton Jones, he's Alpha's foremost expert on all things computer-related during the first season.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears without explanation in the second season, though a deleted scene implies that he and Morrow are killed in an Eagle crash.
- Cyborg: As shown in "Guardian of Piri", he's fitted with an implant in the cortex of his brain that allows him to directly link his mind to a computer a la The Matrix.
- Token Minority: Mostly averted by the standards of a '70s series. He certainly gets a lot more to do per episode than, say, Lt. Uhura.
Tony Verdeschi
- Played by Tony Anholt
- The Danza: Both the character and his actor are named Tony.
- Lethal Chef: He's often seen attempting to brew his own homemade beer, with generally less-than-impressive results.
- Remember the New Guy?: Despite never being seen or even alluded to in the first season, he's treated as a familiar presence throughout the second.
Tanya Alexander
- Played by Suzanne Roquette
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Along with Morrow, Kano, and Professor Bergman, she disappears without explanation in the second season.
- Ms. Fanservice: Fills this role on occasion, most notably in "Force of Life" during the scene in the base solarium. She's certainly a very attractive young woman.
- Out of Focus: Arguably the least developed member of the main cast.
Dr. Bob Mathias
- Played by Anton Phillips
- Demoted to Extra: Over the course of the second season, he slowly fades from the limelight until he's eventually replaced by not one but two Suspiciously Similar Substitutes, Dr. Raul Nunez (Raul Newney) and Dr. Ben Vincent (Jeffrey Kissoon).
- Token Minority: Largely averted; he has an important role in many episodes, being one of only two doctors on the base. Unlike Kano he returns for season two, although he only appears in two episodes of the final season before being replaced by the aforementioned substitute characters.
Bill Fraser
