NASA is run by a bunch of 'Star Trek' nerds, and this photo proves it
NASA mission controllers are some of the biggest Star Trek fans in the universe, so it only makes sense that they would celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original series in true nerdy style.
Instead of showing its usual graphic of the International Space Station on a world map in mission control, Thursday's live view of the station's current position is represented by Captain Kirk's intrepid Starship Enterprise.
NASA's love of Star Trek has been known among space fans for quite some time.
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The agency even named one of its space shuttles "Enterprise" after Star Trek fans launched a letter-writing campaign in the 1970s. The shuttle was originally going to be named the Constitution to celebrate the bicentennial in 1976.
The Space Shuttle Enterprise never went to space, but its flight tests did help NASA engineers learn more about how to safely fly the other orbiters to space and back again.
Astronauts have also brought their love of the series to space with them.
European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti wore Star Trek-themed clothing during her time above Earth and paid tribute to Leonard Nimoy -- who played Spock in the original series -- along with NASA astronaut Terry Virts when Nimoy died in 2015.
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NASA astronauts also have a habit of re-creating their favorite movie posters for unofficial mission photos ahead of a launch to the Space Station or (previously) on the space shuttle.
For example, the crew of a space shuttle mission launched in 2011 parodied the 2009 Star Trek movie reboot for their poster.
The Expedition 21 crew to the Space Station also used a Star Trek theme for their own parody poster.
NASA scientists and engineers also appear to be big fans of Star Wars, Firefly and many other space-related series or movies.
Topics Star Trek
Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
