The late Gene Roddenberry and his widow Majel Barrett Roddenberry have been selected as this year's recipients of the Space Foundation's Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award, which will be presented April 8 during the National Space Symposium's opening ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry, Jr. will attend the ceremony and accept the award on behalf of his parents.

"The Space Foundation salutes the Roddenberrys for the vision and creative inspiration that made possible the science fiction of Star Trek through which millions have developed an affinity for the beauty, wonder and possibilities of space exploration; and for enduring support of real-world space exploration and development as evidenced by personal commitment to NASA and other champions of the final frontier," a Space Foundation press release stated.

Gene Roddenberry, of course, created Star Trek and developed a reputation as a futurist with his involvement with NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, universities and other institutions supporting the space program and technological advancement. Majel is a familiar face and voice to Star Trek fans, having played "Nurse Chapel" in the Original Series and "Lwaxana Troi" in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, plus she provided the voice of the starship computers on each series through Star Trek: Voyager. Continuing her husband's support of space efforts, Majel sits on the board of governors for the National Space Society.

Each year, the Space Foundation presents its Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to public awareness of space programs. The award honors the memory of the late Doug Morrow, former Foundation board member and renowned Academy Award-winning writer (in 1949 for "The Stratton Story"). Previous recipients of the award include Popular Science magazine, Space Shuttle Mission STS-95 (the 1998 mission with the 77-year-old John Glenn), NASA's JPL Mars Pathfinder Team, and CNN.

The symposium, which gathers top space leaders from industry, the military and government, takes place April 8-11 in Colorado Springs. Preliminary symposium program information and on-line registration are available at www.spacesymposium.org or by calling 1-800-691-4000.