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In a distant galaxy, George Lucas conceived of a monumental futuristic weapon. He named it the “lightsaber” and gave it to his bravest heroes or his most menacing villains.
Three decades later, irrefutable evidence emerged indicating the existence of lightsabers in the universe. How was this information acquired? We placed it there during a mission in 2007.
Jim Reilly, a retired NASA astronaut with experience in three missions and eight spacewalks, described the link as a unique combination of two space themes.
“There exists a delicate balance between science fiction and reality in our work,” he expressed. “It is a matter of time, as much of our current work was once considered science fiction during my formative years.”
Astronauts had previously smuggled novelty or contraband items off-world on multiple occasions. In 1969, shortly after the initial moon landings, sculptor Forrest Myers collaborated with several artists to create the Moon Museum. This collection of scribblings was discreetly attached to the Apollo 12 spacecraft and likely remains on the lunar surface.
Following that, Voyager 1 and 2 were launched with Golden Records on board. These records included two 30-centimeter (12-inch) golden disks with 115 images, 90 minutes of music, greetings in 55 languages, and a collection of “sounds of Earth.”
The lightsaber, a well-known weapon, was assembled from various items in the prop department and spent 14 days in orbit during mission STS-120. Departing Earth on October 23, 2007, it traveled securely stored in foam within an enclosed compartment aboard the Discovery Space Shuttle, a departure from the typical Star Wars-themed space missions.
After the mission concluded, the lightsaber was safely returned to George Lucas without being used against any Sith Lords. We sympathize with the pizza delivery person tasked with delivering to Darth Vader.
