Star Trek news: Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Star Wars debate, a classic comic collection, NASA's tricorder and more

Star Trek Mad Libs are on the way, as is a new Vulcan Ale and a "Transporter Coaster" upon which to rest it.

December 1, 2015, 8:59AM By MeTV Staff

Does an astrophysicist prefer the Enterprise or the Millennium Falcon? When can you read classic Star Trek comic strips from the 1960s? Why did Google cancel its Star Trek communicator? Find out in today's Star Trek roundup.

Star Trek

3/25 11:00PMThe Enterprise Incident
"Captain Kirk becomes increasingly erratic and orders the Enterprise into Romulan space where the ship is captured by a beautiful Romulan commander."
4/1 11:00PMThe Paradise Syndrome
"Stardate 4842.6: Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to a planet to inform any inhabitants that they must evacuate the planet due to an approaching asteroid's imminent collision. A society similar to Native American Indians has arisen on the planet, but near their villages, the landing party finds a strange obelisk whose design and construction is far beyond the capabilities of the planet's natives. Kirk finds that the monolith can be opened by the combination of sounds found in the order "Kirk to Enterprise," but when he enters the obelisk, he is attacked by waves of energy that erase his mind. With no time to spare, Spock and McCoy have to return to the Enterprise without Kirk, and begin trying to use the ship's tractor beam to divert the asteroid. Meanwhile, Kirk becomes the tribal chief, takes a wife and even expects to become a father, but the Enterprise may not be able to save her former captain's future."
4/8 11:00PMAnd the Children Shall Lead
"The Enterprise travels to a planet where a scientific team has killed themselves except for the children, who began to act oddly."

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Half a century since its inception, there is no shortage of Star Trek news! We scan the Internet for updates and intriguing tidbits regarding the beloved sci-fi franchise.

Celebrity cosmologist and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is no stranger to the Star Trek versus Star Wars debate, and by now it's no secret that the scientist prefers the franchise that is firmly rooted in science. In October, the host of StarTalk explained why Star Trek has "earned his attention" when chatting with The Wall Street Journal. Now, in a clip from his National Geographic show, deGrasse Tyson is getting more specific with his disses of Han Solo and crew. Watch him explain why the Enterprise is a far more important spaceship than the Millennium Falcon in this video.

Comic book publisher IDW is gathering vintage Star Trek weekly serial comics that ran in the U.K. starting in 1969. The strips even hit the British stands months before the show premiered in the country. The hardcover collection, Star Trek: The Classic UK Comics Volume 1, is available for preorder on Amazon for $44.99. It will be released on March 17, 2016. IDW also is also currently offering a bundle of Star Trek comics at 50% off through December 8.

You'll also have to wait until spring for the official Star Trek Mad Libs. The classic fill-in-the-blank book is being published by Penguin for $4.99 and will be released April 5. You can preorder it now.

NASA has developed a "chemical laptop" to help scientists analyze samples from outer space. The small "portable labratory" is being compared to the tricorder of Star Trek, according to NBC News. NASA's Jet Propulsion Labratory is developing the device, which is compared to an expresso machine in how it operates.

Meanwhile, another Star Trek tech will sadly not come to fruition, it seems. As reported by Time, Google secretly developed a prototype of a wearable communicator worn on the chest. Just as they operate on the Starfleet uniforms, the Google combadges activate via touch. The idea was to allow people to access the company's massive search engine via speech. Perhaps we can petition them to make it so.

The online shop for all things nerd, Thinkgeek is now offering Star Trek Transporter Pad LED Coasters. Add a glow to your Romulan Ale!

Speaking of drinks, Shmaltz Brewery has released its latest Star Trek licensed beer, a Red Session IPA dubbed The Genesis Effect. Read more about the brew at Space.com.