As tributes to Leonard Nimoy continue to pour in, astronaut Sam Cristoforetti added a picture thanking the actor for “bringing Spock to life” taken from her current home – space.

The Italian astronaut who is currently on board the International Space Station with the European Space Agency (ESA) shared a picture of her looking up at the Earth while making a Vulcan salute.

The previous day, US astronaut Terry Virts shared a similar picture, without making any reference to Leonard, his character Mr Spock or Star Trek.

The simple image of Virts’ Vulcan Salute has been retweeted more than 37,000 times and favourited more than 35,800 times.

Eighty-three-year-old Nimoy, who played Mr Spock in the long-running science fiction series, died on Friday.