Space pioneers and meteorite dust star on new stamp release

NZ Post's latest stamp collection going intergalactic with a sprinkling of real stardust on each one. Photo / NZ Post

NZ Post's newest stamps are out of this world, featuring some of the country's space pioneers along with a sprinkling of real stardust.

The New Zealand Space Pioneers stamps released today celebrate six New Zealanders who were pioneers in astronomy, cosmology or rocket science to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first humans - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin - landing on the moon.

NZ Post head of stamps and coins Simon Allison said Kiwis had also made an impact in the field and deserved to be celebrated.

As a special touch, the stamps had been sprinkled with real stardust, collected from a meteorite found in Morocco.

The stamps feature pioneer astrophysicist Beatrice Hill Tinsley, astronomer Charles Gifford, pioneer of the world's space exploration Sir William Pickering, ONZ KBE: A pioneer of the world's space exploration, visual observer Albert Jones and Alan Gilmore and Pamela Kilmartin who track near-Earth asteroids.

"This proud history is coupled with the fact that last year New Zealand became the 11th country to reach orbit with the launch of Rocket Lab's Electron Rocket off Mahia Peninsula," Allison said.

Museums Wellington senior science communicator Haritina Mogoșanu said it was the first
time New Zealand's astronomical history has been recognised in this way.

"We're proud of the significant contributions Kiwis have had in pioneering this field, and hope through the stamps and our Space Place at the Carter Observatory to inspire a new generation to follow their lead."

Some of the other stamps in the collection contained 3D images celebrating the bigger space story including the moon landing.