The remains of Lieutenant Uhura in the original "Star Trek" television series will be launched into space later this year.
The ashes of a woman will be carried on a rocket set to travel between 150 million and 300 million kilometers into the sky.
One of the first Black women to have a leading role on a network television series has died.
She was also credited with inspiring women and people of color to join NASA.
When the United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket is launched later this year, it will carry more than 200 capsule containing ashes, messages of greetings and DNA samples.
Kyle Johnson is going to give his mother a sample of his genetic material. Mr. Johnson regretted that he couldn't share the eternal tribute with his mother at the launch.
The rocket would be used to send a lander to the moon. It would enter a stable elliptical path around the sun. The flight will be renamed the Enterprise Station at the end of the powered burn and coast phase.
The ashes of other "Star Trek" figures will also be on the spaceflight.
They include Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek," and his wife, Majel Roddenberry, who played Nurse Chapel in the original series, James Doohan, who played Montgomery Scott, and Douglas.
The first time Mr. Roddenberry's ashes were sent to space was in 1997. Timothy Leary's remains were also on that journey.
The company is collecting contributions from the public to be included in the flight.
She began her association with NASA after appearing on the original "Star Trek" show.
She helped promote the space agency and recruited people from underrepresented groups. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, was one of thousands of women and people from minority groups that she inspired to apply to NASA.
Mae Jemison, who became the first woman of color to go to space in 1992, said that Ms. Nichols' performance on "Star Trek" inspired her interest in the universe.
The NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, said in a statement that her activism transformed NASA.
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