JULY 29, 2022 - “On Voyager, apparently, 300 years from now, you can modulate the magnetic containment field that creates the illusion of a hologram’s image to stop matter or allow it to pass through it,” Robert Picardo, Star Trek: Voyager’s holographic doctor, told me. “That is double-speak for ‘We don’t know how we do this, but we knew that the doctor had to be able to hold a tricorder.’”

This past April, it was announced that science fiction had become science fact, and real-life doctors had been holoported to the International Space Station, 300 years ahead of schedule. Picardo commented, “There’s something about having a real-time, live-action image of a doctor looking at you, speaking, giving you guidance, and being able to see and respond, and adjust their advice accordingly which is very exciting.”

One of those holographic doctors is Josef Schmid, a NASA flight surgeon. I sat down with him recently to discuss the breakthrough and learn what the future may hold, a future that includes being able to interact with astro-patients, just as Voyager’s doctor does.