Astronaut Pays Vulcan Tribute to Leonard Nimoy From Space

American astronaut Terry Virts tweeted a photo tribute to actor Leonard Nimoy on Saturday from the International Space Station. 

Virts shared an image of the split-fingered Vulcan salute against the backdrop of Earth. It contained no written message, but comes a day after the death of 83-year-old Nimoy.

Nimoy played the half-human, half-Vulcan Mr. Spock on the classic television series "Star Trek."

The actor was a native of Boston and the Massachusetts coastline is visible to the right of Virts' hand.

NASA tweeted its own tribute to Nimoy on Friday, explaining how so "many of us at NASA were inspired by Star Trek."

Other astronauts have been tweeting messages about Nimoy’s impact on their own careers.

"#RIP @TheRealNimoy who popularized #space travel for generations to come so we may live long and prosper," Scott Kelley said in a tweet.

Live Long and Prosper, Mr. #Spock!" tweeted Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, aboard the International Space Station.

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