Nichelle Nichols made history as one of the first black women featured in a popular TV series with her role as Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek. Sadly, she went on to face a personal tragedy related to the 'final frontier' when her brother Thomas Nichols died along with 39 other members of the Heaven's Gate cult in 1997.

Thomas was a long term member of the UFO obsessed group, who collectively believed that death would grant them passage to a higher plane of existence aboard an alien spacecraft trailing the Hale-Bopp comet. He remained committed to the sect for over 20 years, and often proudly identified himself as Nichelle's brother in Heaven's Gate promotional materials. 

Family members were left grief-stricken when Heaven's Gate members committed suicide together in 1997. The group’s leader, Marshall Applewhite, promoted an ideology that combined apocalyptic Christian beliefs with science fiction myths.

Cult members renounced their human identities and agreed to erase all signs of their individuality. Many went as far as being voluntarily castrated in pursuit of androgynous purity. Applewhite himself participated in this practise.

The bodies of all 40 members were found in a mansion near San Diego after they died in ritiualistic stages. Each person was arranged into a position, dressed identically to the others, and covered in purple shrouds.

Medical examiners revealed that while some of the cultists died from lethal doses of barbiturates and alcohol, others may have been suffocated after sedating themselves with less than lethal amounts.

The group had cut off all ties with the outside world, and did not leave behind any personal belongings. The only posessions law enforcement members found in the Heaven's Gate house were computers they used to build websites and a series of eerie farewell videos.

Few details were shared publicly about Nichelle's reaction to her brother's death, but her manager confirmed she had seen him "just a few years ago" and it's likely she was affected by the news.

Nichelle previously revealed there was a time when she considered leaving the cast of Star Trek, but Dr Martin Luther King Jr himself convinced her to stay on board. 

The civil rights activist, who also turned out to be a big Star Trek fan, told her: "For the first time on television, we will be seen as we should be seen every day - as intelligent, quality, beautiful people." He stressed the importance of her staying in her role to represent black people on television.