On Sunday, February 26, Nichelle Nichols, best known for playing Lieutenant Uhura in "Star Trek," served as the honorary chair of a gala benefit honoring Doctor Ronald E. McNair, one of the astronauts on the Space Shuttle Challenger, according to startrek.com.

McNair was one of the minority astronauts who joined the space program through Nichols' efforts when she worked for NASA during the 1970s and 1980s. The event is being held in remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986. The entire six-member crew was lost, including McNair.

Proceeds from the $100-a-plate gala will go to a two-week science academy for teachers and inner-city youth conducted by the Doctor Ronald E. McNair Educational Science Literary Foundation. The event was held at NASA's Space Center Houston, including a tribute concert performed by Jazz artist Kirk Whalen.

Nichols continues to be a popular guest at science-fiction conventions and other events, many of them acknowledging Star Trek's 40th anniversary during 2006.