Star Trek's Space Walk Technology Isn't Just Sci-Fi: Russian Scientists Almost Made It Real

The original "Star Trek" TV show and subsequent films were set in a not-so-distant future. In this fictitious future, there was no magical universal energy surrounding everyone like the nonsensical Force from "Star Wars." Instead, the crew of the USS Enterprise had to rely on technology. The tech in this universe was notably imaginative but not outside the realm of possibility. Some fake devices, such as 3D printers, tablets, and universal translators, were even displayed in the series long before they were a reality.

One piece of equipment used by the crew of the USS Enterprise you probably wouldn't have guessed to be real is the emergency evacuation thruster pack from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." This environmental suit attachment famously propelled Commander Spock toward the massive V'ger entity during the film's climax via a thruster on the back controlled via an onboard computer.

Turns out that something identical to the emergency evacuation thruster pack was actually built and tested by the Russians. What's even more surprising is work on the project is still ongoing to this day.

Russia's interest in creating a 'space motorbike' can be traced all the way back to the Cold War. However, back then, the technology just wasn't there. But that did not discourage the Soviet Union which continued to work on the project until 1990, when the country finally had an operational space motorbike dubbed Icarus. The vehicle, presumably named after the mythological figure that spawned the phrase "fly too close to the sun," looked very similar to its "Star Trek" counterpart with its floating armchair design. Cosmonaut Aleksandr Serebrov later tested the propulsion system in February of the same year. You may recognize Serebrov as the first person to play a video game in space.

Despite multiple tests conducted by the astronauts aboard the Mir space station, the device was eventually destroyed in favor of NASA's propulsion backpack, the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). Nowadays, the ISS crew uses a Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER) and the Draper suit for emergencies. But Russia never gave up on its dream of untethered propulsion.

In 2018, Russia's State Space Corporation, Roscosmos, published a video highlighting the journey to create this space bike. It featured videos of an American prototype in the works and mentioned that the dream of a space motorbike hasn't faded. So, who knows, maybe soon, astronauts will be zipping around space like Commander Spock.