Actor Leonard Nimoy. PHOTO: AFP
The actor who was best known for his portrayal of the half-human and half-Vulcan science officer on the TV and film series passed away on Friday after suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83 years old.
Star Trek served as an inspiration for many at Nasa over the years, and Nimoy had also joined other cast members at special Nasa events and worked to promote Nasa missions.
Nimoy was there for the 1976 rollout of the shuttle Enterprise, named for the show’s iconic spacecraft.
“Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers. As Mr Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most,” Nasa administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement.
RIP Leonard Nimoy. So many of us at NASA were inspired by Star Trek. Boldly go... http://t.co/qpeH5BTzQc pic.twitter.com/nMmFMKYv1L
— NASA (@NASA) February 27, 2015
“Nasa was fortunate to have him as a friend and a colleague. He was much more than the Science Officer for the USS Enterprise,” he continued.
Nimoy was a talented actor, director, philanthropist and a gracious man dedicated to art in many forms.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and the legions of Star Trek fans around the world,” Bolden added.
Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly, set to go on a one-year mission to the International Space Station and current station astronaut Sam Cristoforetti joined others in paying tributes to Nimoy on Twitter.
— Terry Virts (@AstroTerry) February 28, 2015
Nimoy’s own final tweet, posted Feb 23, signed off like all his tweets, with LLAP, an abbreviation for Spock’s famous quote “Live Long and Prosper”.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP
— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) February 23, 2015
Several of his Star Trek co-stars including William Shatner and George Takei had expressed their grief at his demise.
According to the website io9.com, even the president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, paid tribute to the veteran actor in a statement released by the White House where he said that, “Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy.”
The press release added that, “Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and time. And of course Leonard was Spock. Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the centre of Star Trek’s optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity’s future.”
The spirit of Spock will live long and prosper. #RIPLeonardNimoy #LLAP pic.twitter.com/WyqQgTNDod
— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) February 27, 2015
In a career spanning six decades, Nimoy’s stint included film direction, singing, poetry and photography. But his lasting claim to fame remains Spock, a native of the planet Vulcan whose pointed ears, unemotional manner endeared him to millions of fans.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2015.
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