The original Lt. Nyoto Uhura will make a final return to space. CNN reports that late actress Nichelle Nichols’ (Snow Dogs, Truck Turner) remains will be launched into space via Celestis Inc., private company that specializes in memorial spaceflights. The trailblazing actress died at the age of 89 this past July.
When the few roles Black actors had on TV were reduced to servants and comic relief, Nichols pioneered a space on Star Trek for three seasons from 1966 -1969, via CNN. As the lone Black character in the series, Nichols became a shining beacon of representation during the tumultuous 1960s, the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. Not only did she open doors for Black actresses on the screen, but she utilized her agency for women and minorities to break into the field of sciences and astrology. Nichols was responsible for many of the first female and minority U.S. astronauts NASA recruited, including Judith Resnik becoming one of the first female astronauts in 1973; and later, Guion Bluford Jr., who became the first African American in space in 1983.
As impactful as Nichols’ role was at the time, it almost didn’t happen. A story Nichols told extensively was how the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a fan of the series, convinced her to remain on the show. Nichols had originally optioned to seek a career on Broadway after the first season of Star Trek. But, a chance encounter with the prolific civil rights activist convinced her to stay.
According to CNN, Nichols’ cremated remains will launch on the first Celestis Voyager Memorial Spaceflight. Her ashes will be accompanied by the remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: TNG) and his wife, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek). The rocket will also be the final resting place for Nichols’ co-star, James Doohan (The Rising, The Independent Command), who portrayed Montgomery “Scotty” Scott in the series and films.
Beyond the 60s show, Nichols would reprise the role of Uhura throughout the film’s franchise from 1979 to 1991, CNN reports. The role was recently held by Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Colombiana) in the rebooted Star Trek film saga; and, Celia Rose Gooding (Broadway Whodunit: All Hallow’s Eve, Breakwater) on the Paramount+ spinoff series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.