ACTORS, POLITICIANS, AND OTHER famous figures have been paying tribute to Leonard Nimoy today, following the Star Trek actor’s death yesterday, at the age of 83.

The iconic actor passed away at his home in Los Angeles from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

NASA tribute

The below tribute – from NASA – has been shared more than 7,000 times on Facebook since it was posted last evening.

The head of the US space agency describes the actor as “an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers”.

NASA / Facebook NASA / Facebook / Facebook

Here’s the text of the tribute:

• NASA is mourning the passing today of actor Leonard Nimoy, most famous for his role as Star Trek’s Vulcan science officer Mr. Spock. The sci-fi classic served as an inspiration for many at NASA over the years, and Nimoy joined other cast members at special NASA events and worked to promote NASA missions, as in this 2007 video he narrated before the launch of the Dawn mission to the asteroid belt. Nimoy also was there for the 1976 rollout of the shuttle Enterprise, named for the show’s iconic spacecraft.

And here are NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s comments:

“Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers.

“As Mr. Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most.

“NASA was fortunate to have him as a friend and a colleague. He was much more than the Science Officer for the USS Enterprise.

Leonard was a talented actor, director, philanthropist, and a gracious man dedicated to art in many forms. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and the legions of Star Trek fans around the world.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield has also been paying tribute to the actor – posting the following on Twitter…

Meanwhile, Nimoy’s own final tweet – sent on Monday – has been re-tweeted over a quarter of a million times…

Fans have also been posting screen-grabs and links to Spock’s funeral scene from Star Trek II on social media…

Not a dry eye in the house, right?

Well, here’s Leonard’s own impression of Shatner’s quivering-lipped eulogy, to cheer you up again…

RIP.

Read: 7 facts you might not have known about Leonard Nimoy

Read: Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in Star Trek, dies at 83