Here's How I'm Celebrating 53 Years of Star Trek

Written by
Robert Picardo
Board of Directors of The Planetary Society; Actor, Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
September 8, 2019
Star Trek premiered on television and changed the world 53 years ago today. To celebrate, I searched through our storage boxes here at The Planetary Society’s headquarters to find something unique to share with you.
Alongside a few other rare pieces of Star Trek history, I found something truly special: A signed letter from Gene Roddenberry encouraging the Star Trek community to join The Planetary Society. Take a look:
A rare letter from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry In 1980, the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, wrote a letter and sent it out to a Star Trek fans mailing list. In the letter, Gene invited his fans to join us on our mission to explore the cosmos.
Here’s a copy of the original letter. I especially enjoyed the postscript about Gene’s “writings of an authentic extra-terrestrial” at one of his lectures. Perhaps one day it will not be so far-fetched!

We have a proud history bridging the communities of science fiction and space science. To all of our members reading this, thank you for being part of our mission to advance space science and exploration. If you’re not a member, what better day is there to join us?
May you live long and prosper. Happy Star Trek Day, everyone.
Take a Stand for Our Future in Space
Take action for space exploration! Give today to have your gift matched up to $75,000.
Donate