NASA Helps Celebrate Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry’s Centennial
NASA is helping the legacy of inspiration, hope, and diversity fostered by the creator of Star Trek to live long and prosper.
[August 18, 2021: The Brighter Side of News / NASA]
Rod Roddenberry, top left, George Takei, Tracy Drain, Jonny Kim, bottom left, Swati Mohan, and Hortense Diggs participate in a panel discussion as part of the program Celebrating Gene Roddenberry: Star Trek's Bridge and NASA. (CREDIT: NASA)
NASA is helping the legacy of inspiration, hope, and diversity fostered by the creator of Star Trek to live long and prosper.
The agency will observe the late Gene Roddenberry’s 100th birthday with a special program called, Celebrating Gene Roddenberry: Star Trek's Bridge and NASA – a panel discussion airing on NASA Television, the agency’s website, the NASA App, and NASA social media at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 19.
The program includes introductory remarks by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson followed by a panel discussion moderated by Rod Roddenberry, son of Gene Roddenberry. Special guest George Takei, Star Trek actor and activist, will participate in the question-and-answer session.
The NASA panelists includes:
Tracy Drain, Europa Clipper flight systems engineer
Hortense Diggs, director of the Office of Communications and Public Engagement at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Swati Mohan, lead for Mars 2020 Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Operations at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California
Jonny Kim, NASA astronaut
Coinciding with the program, NASA will broadcast into space a 1976 recording of Gene Roddenberry's remarks on diversity and inclusion through the agency’s Deep Space Network of radio antennas.
NASA also is inviting people on social media to join celebrating Roddenberry’s 100th birthday on Thursday by posting a Vulcan salute selfie with the hashtag #Roddenberry100.
More information about Roddenberry’s centennial is available at: http://roddenberryfoundation.org/centennial
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Tags: #Celebrity_Good_News, #Star_Trek, #NASA, #Anniversary, #The_Brighter_Side_of_News
Joseph Shavit
Science News Writer, Editor-At-Large and Publisher
Joseph Shavit, based in Los Angeles, is a seasoned science journalist, editor and co-founder of The Brighter Side of News, where he transforms complex discoveries into clear, engaging stories for general readers. With experience at major media groups like Times Mirror and Tribune, he writes with both authority and curiosity. His work spans astronomy, physics, quantum mechanics, climate change, artificial intelligence, health, and medicine. Known for linking breakthroughs to real-world markets, he highlights how research transitions into products and industries that shape daily life.