The ashes of the Star Trek cast and crew will fly into space

According to Universe Today, the ashes and DNA of the Star Trek cast and crew will be part of a special corporate mission.

• Read more: This is the noise made by a black hole 250 light-years away from Earth

• Read more: CO2 detected in outer space atmosphere for first time

• Read more: The James Webb Telescope reveals never-before-seen images of Jupiter

Models of the late Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura), James Doohan (Scotty) and Majel Barrett Roddenberry (Nurse Chapel) will be included in the work. They will be joined by TV series creator Gene Roddenberry and visual effects master Douglas Trumbull.

At a yet-to-be-confirmed date, the prototypes will fly ‘beyond the Moon’ as a ‘secondary payload’ on a mission to deliver a robotic lunar lander for future NASA Artemis missions. United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur mission is partnering with Houston’s Celestis, a commemorative spaceflight, for this integrated mission.

The first unmanned Artemis mission is scheduled for August 29. It will be followed by a second Artemis flight into orbit around the moon, and then a third — the first human landing on the moon in more than 50 years.

Before her death, Nichelle Nichols played Lt. Uhara in the original Star Trek series and several spin-offs, portraying her character from 1966 to 1991, according to the Smithsonian. The actress, who worked with NASA, died on July 30 this year. Gene Roddenberry died in 1991, James Doohan in 2005, Majel Roddenberry in 2008 and Douglas Trumbull in February of this year.