William Shatner, one of the first Canadians to boldly go where no one has gone before, had a brief Twitter chat with astronaut Chris Hadfield, a fellow countryman, who is currently on board the International Space Station.

Hadfield, who went into space in late December, has been tweeting photos of various landscapes from orbit, answering questions and doing other astronaut-like things, such as performing experiments to make fluids behave as solids. Shatner tweeted at the astronaut on Thursday afternoon.

Hadfield responded a few hours later.


Chris Hadfield
Yes, Standard Orbit, Captain. And we're detecting signs of life on the surface.

Hadfield also found the time to tweet to CBC news anchor Peter Mansbridge.


Chris Hadfield
The best part is being able to directly share the art & wonder of this new human place with everyone, worldwide.

We think this tweet sums up just how awesome this whole experience is.


brownpau
An astronaut in space just sent a status message to a guy who portrayed a starship captain LIFE IN THE FUTURE

Earlier on HuffPost:

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  • Rocky Mountains

    "The Rockies are beautiful, and very much so from orbit - What an amazing view! (photo taken 30 Dec 12)"

  • St. John's

    "St John's, NF - catching some winter sun through the cloud. Taken from the International Space Station on 2 Jan 13."

  • Halifax

    "Halifax NS, dressed in snow. Beautiful both on earth and from space - taken on the second day of 2013."

  • Toronto

    "Toronto in snow - how it looked from the ISS today, 30 Dec at 12:35 local."

  • Montreal

    "Montreal South Shore, in snow (and a trace of cloud) - how it looked today from ISS, 30 Dec at 12:40."

  • Ottawa

    'Ottawa in Snow - how it looked today from ISS - 30 Dec at 12:40"

  • Barrie, Ont.

    "Barrie, ON in snow - how it looked from ISS, today, 30 Dec at 12:40."

  • Lake Winnipeg

    "Like a pointed toe into icy water - Long Point, Lake Winnipeg, from orbit. (30 Dec 12)"

  • Price Edward Island

    "PEI on the last day of 2012, as seen from a window of the Space Station. (11:00 AM, 31 Dec)"

  • Cambridge, Ont.

    "Cambridge Ontario in the snow, on the last day of 2012."

  • Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.

    "Kitchener-Waterloo in the snow, taken from the Space Station on the last day of 2012."

  • Tadoussac, Quebec

    "Tadoussac, Quebec - a great place for whale watching. Photo taken at Noon on 31 Dec 12."

  • Quebec City

    "Quebec City - La Ville de Quebec, le 31 Dec 12 a midi, de la station spatial internationale."

  • Sackville, N.B.

    "Sackville NB, home of @MountAllison University - on the last day of 2012."

  • Calgary

    "Calgary emerging from the snow on New Year's Eve, with clouds beginning to roll in overhead."

  • Kingston, Ont.

    "Kingston, ON in snow - how it looked from ISS today, 30 Dec at 12:40."