Star Trek Movie Gets NASA Advice

The out-of-this world visuals in the new Star Trek movie will actually be based on science from our solar system. A NASA planetary scientist has joined the film's production team to ensure the scientific accuracy of the movie's astronomical scenes.
As the leader of the Imaging Science team on NASA'S Cassini mission at Saturn, Carolyn Porco has guided a crew of scientists and engineers responsible for illustrating the mission's results.
Porco now will also work on the new Paramount Pictures film as a consultant on planetary science and imagery.
"This is a fabulous opportunity to bring to a wider audience the discoveries we've made at Saturn, and the spectacular sights we have seen there," Porco said. "And what better way to do that than to make use of those discoveries in the crafting of imagery for one of the most popular movie franchises of all time."
Porco was invited to join the Star Trek Team by the movie's director and producer, J.J. Abrams.
"Carolyn and her team have produced images that are simply stunning," Abrams said. "I'm thrilled that she will help guide our production in creating an authentic vision of space, one that immerses our audience in a visual experience as awe-inspiring as what Carolyn's cameras have captured."
Abrams, who co-created, produced, and directed the TV series "Lost," did the same for the TV series "Alias" and directed the film "Mission: Impossible III," was present at the 2007 TED conference in Monterey, California where Porco spoke of the recent findings from the Cassini mission.
Porco directs the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, where Cassini images are processed for release to the public. (Cassini images of Saturn and its rings and moons can be found at the official imaging team Web site, http://ciclops.org)