By Steve Krutzler / 09:52, 21 February 2004 / TrekWeb Features

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By Jacqueline Bundy
Photos by Eric Stillwell

On the evening of February 19th Paramount Home Entertainment and members of the cast of STAR TREK: VOYAGER held a special event in Los Angeles to celebrate the current success of the NASA space missions and support the future of space exploration. Among those attending the space age celebration at the California Science Center's Air and Space Gallery were Shuttle Astronaut Dr. Janice Voss, Astrophysicist Dr. Sallie Baliunas, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, Garrett Wang, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Rick Sternbach, and Eric Stillwell. Several representatives from NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and The Planetary Society were also in attendance.

The Air and Space Gallery was the perfect setting for this event with its models of history-making air and spacecraft suspended above the guests. During the opening reception I was able to speak with Shuttle Astronaut Dr. Janice Voss who has flown on five shuttle missions conducting a wide variety of experiments as a mission specialist. A life long STAR TERK fan, Dr. Voss said, "STAR TREK had a huge impact on me as a child and I think that VOYAGER has inspired a whole new generation of children. STAR TREK inspires people to expand their horizons in so many directions."

One of the major topics of conversation during the evening was, of course, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity and the invaluable knowledge they are providing. Robert Picardo, who was at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California the day that the Spirit Rover landed on Mars talked with obvious enthusiasm about the Mars Exploration Program. "It's been a tremendously successful mission so far," he said. "This is the most exciting time for the space program in recent memory."

A member of the advisory board of The Planetary Society, Mr. Picardo has been devoting quite a bit of time lately to promoting the Planetary Society's Student Astronaut Program. This unique program allows students with an interest in space and space exploration to work alongside the scientists and NASA engineers at JPL. "We had students from 27 countries, ranging in age from 13 to 17 apply for the program this year," Picardo stated. Sixteen young people were selected this year to work on the Mars Rover project and several of them were in attendance at this event.

The Planetary Society is the largest space interest group in the world. A non-profit organization with more than 100,000 members from 140 countries it was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman to encourage the exploration of our solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life. Bruce Betts, Director of Projects for The Planetary Society feels that "the reason we are so large is due in part to the STAR TREK series. The interest that is generated in space through STAR TREK is something we definitely recognize." More information about The Planetary Society can be found at their web site http://www.planetary.org.

Following the reception Martin Blythe, Vice President of Publicity for Paramount Home Entertainment, introduced of Dr. Sallie Baliunas, who talked about NASA's current and upcoming projects. Mr. Blythe said that everyone at Paramount "stands in awe of NASA's achievements."

Tim Russ, an avid amateur astronomer and also a Planetary Society member, presented a special a STAR TREK: VOYAGER DVD plaque to Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in salute of its recent remarkable achievements including the Mars Landing. Shuttle Astronaut Dr. Janice Voss accepted the plaque telling the guests just as STAR TREK inspired her as a child she firmly believes that "STAR TREK makes children think that they could do this too. It inspires them to study hard and fulfill the goals that it inspires in them."

Before presenting the plaque Mr. Russ spoke briefly about the importance of continued space exploration. "Given the vast number of stars and possible star systems like out own there is a good chance that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. Perhaps they could be looking at our planet right now."

When asked what he thought about the idea of other life in the universe Garrett Wang said, "I hope whoever is out their makes their presence known soon." "How can there not be other intelligent life in space," he added. "Could we really be the only intelligent species in the entire universe? I say no."