NASA Declares What Trekkies Knew All Along: William Shatner Rules

What's This?

William Shatner is presented with NASA's Distinguished Public Service medal by Bob Jacobs, NASA deputy associate administrator, communications, on April 27, 2014.

By Amanda Wills2014-04-29 16:20:52 UTC

NASA awarded Trekkie leader William Shatner its highest civilian honor over the weekend.

While Shatner travelled across Star Trek's fictional galaxies on the small screen as Captain Kirk, he's also a real-life advocate for space exploration. The original Starfleet commander received NASA’s Distinguished Public Service medal on Saturday for his work in encouraging students to study math and science.

See also: The Curious Mars Simulation in the Middle of the Utah Desert

Shatner and NASA go way back. The original Star Trek series featured several references to the space agency, and its programs were incorporated into story lines. For example, Star Trek's pilot episode, "The Cage," featured a few nods to NASA spacecraft, including Mariner 2 and Pioneer 5.

Past recipients of this NASA honor include Neil de Grasse Tyson and Ed Stone, the scientist who helped launch Voyager into space.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Topics: NASA, Space, Star Trek, Television, US & World, William Shatner