Leonard Nimoy Tribute By Astronaut Terry Virts Is Simply Incredible

This Tribute To Leonard Nimoy Is Simply Incredible

Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy died on Friday prompting an outpouring of grief from around the world.

And amongst the tributes one stands out as being especially poignant...

This simple shot of the Vucan salute - one of the trademarks of Nimoy's Star Trek character, Mr Spock - was taken aboard the International Space Station by astronaut Terry Virts.

In the distance is Nimoy's hometown of Boston.

Nimoy was taken to UCLA Medical Center in LA earlier this week suffering from chest pains.

He had recently revealed he was fighting a serious lung disease and had been in out of hospital multiple times over the last few months.

His last tweet was especially touching in light of his passing.

After quitting smoking 30 years ago, the actor revealed his diagnosis on Twitter and urged smokers to kick the habit.

“I quit smoking 30 years ago. Not soon enough. I have COPD. Grandpa says, quit now!! LLAP [Live Long And Prosper]’

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), obstructs sufferers’ breathing as their airways narrow.

The astronaut ended up with unwanted water in his helmet Wednesday after breezing through a cable and lube job outside the International Space Station.

The leak was scarily reminiscent of a near-drowning outside the orbiting complex nearly two years ago.

This time, the amount of water was relatively small - essentially a big blob of water floating inside Terry Virts' helmet. In the summer of 2013, another spacewalking astronaut's helmet actually flooded. He barely made it back inside.

Virts was never in any danger, Mission Control stressed, and he never reported any water during his 6 1/2 hours outside.

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