I have been meaning to commemorate the life of Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura on Star Trek, as well as in a few episodes of Futurama. When I was very young, I liked Scotty because of how he talked. When I became a teenager, Uhura became my favorite character (for obvious reasons). Now that I’m older I like Dr. McCoy the most, for his gravelly cynicism and strong moral streak. Uhura was always doing cool stuff, like intercepting alien transmissions and speaking Klingon, or, in Star Trek V, providing an unusual tactical distraction. In a show filled with great characters, she stood out.
I was very pleased to learn, therefore, that her ashes are going to space. As someone who inspired generations of scientists, engineers, actors and science fiction writers (not to mention Martin Luther King himself), it is fitting she will spend eternity out in the cosmos.