The USS Enterprise’s next stop: Mars?
A NASAspacecraftcaptured a photo of a dune on the surface of Mars that looks suspiciously like the famous Starfleet logo fromStar Trek. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), snapped the photo on the Red Planet’s southeast Hellas Planitia.
The landmark was created from crescent-shaped dunes, called “barchan,” that moved across the area of the planet. After an eruption, the lava flowed around the dunes, causing the island-like landmarks to remain after the lava cooled.
“Eventually, the sand piles that were the dunes migrated away, leaving these ‘footprints’ in the lava plain,” the HiRISEwebsitestates.
InStar Trek, Starfleet is the organization that the famous Captain Kirk and Spock are part of, which is responsible for conducting deep space exploration, research, defense, peacekeeping and diplomacy.
While the symbol found on Mars is a fun, coincidental reference to the beloved sci-fi show, NASA andStar Trekhave been linked since the show’s premiere in 1966 — the organization even credits the show with bringing space travel into the country’s “collective imagination.”
“When the [original] show ended after three seasons, NASA was still six weeks from landing astronauts on the moon, but Star Trek had firmly implanted the idea of travel to the stars in the collective imagination,”NASA’s websitesays.
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona; CBS
The organization alsopointed outthatStar Trekactress Nichelle Nicholls helped NASA recruit African-American astronauts in the 1970s, and Spock actor Leonard Nimoy narratedDestiny in Space, which featured astronaut footage of the Hubble Space Telescope being repaired.
The former Chief Scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope, Dr. Edward Weiler, even said thatStar Trekmade him want to go into the sciences, according toNASA.
According to NASA’swebsite, the space agency awarded its Distinguished Public Service Medal posthumously to the show’s founding producer, Gene Roddenberry, to recognize the “wayStar Trekinspired people around the globe.”
source: people.com
