Atavachron

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

The atavachron was a computer device utilized on the planet Sarpeidon to prepare its inhabitants to travel back through a time portal to escape their sun's supernova. The atavachron altered a time traveler's cellular structure, making it possible to survive in earlier environments, but also making it impossible to return to the present without reversing the cellular alteration.

In 2269, Mr. Atoz used the atavachron to send the residents of Sarpeidon back in time to escape the danger of their sun going nova. A traveler's destination was chosen by the person from the planet's own history, which were programmed on verism tapes.

Kirk, Spock and McCoy were accidentally transported back into the planet's history. They were able to return to the present, since they were not treated for cellular alteration prior to the use of the atavachron.

Zor Kahn also once used the atavachron to banish Zarabeth into the past, sending her into Sarpeidon's Ice Age. (TOS: "All Our Yesterdays")

Some interpretations suggest that Zarabeth was banished just a few years before the landing party from the Enterprise arrived on Sarpeidon; however, there is no discussion of how old the atavachron is or how long ago Zor Kahn ruled the planet. Given the nature of time travel, this could easily mean that Zor Kahn ruled decades or even centuries beforehand.

The atavachron, whose name comes from a Latin word meaning ancestor and a Greek word meaning time, is clearly the same set piece that was used for the Beta 5 Computer in the second season episode TOS: "Assignment: Earth"