Written by: Derek Kessler (Trek United News Editor)
Carolyn Porco, the lead imaging scientist on the joint NASA/ESA Cassini mission to Saturn has been tapped by the “Star Trek” (2008) crew to provide her expertise to the graphics teams. She will be ensuring that the sets, mattes, and planets are all realistic and at least scientifically plausible, following a time-honored Star Trek tradition of bringing aboard scientific advisors to make the film that much more real.
Said J.J. Abrams, “Carolyn and her team have produced images that are simply stunning. 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.”
Porco directs the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. CICLOPS is the flight control center for Cassini and processes all of the imagery from Saturn that the probe sends back to Earth.
Porco will be working with Industrial Light and Magic’s Roger Guyett, who has been working with ILM for 14 years. His work can be seen in such blockbuster films as “Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Mission: Impossible: III,” and the latest Harry Potter film. Carolyn Porco served as a consultant for the 1997 Jodie Foster movie “Contact,” and worked with A&E television on the 25th anniversary Voyager mission special “Cosmic Journey.”
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