The United States Postal Service has released its 2016 postage stamp collection that includes three new space-themed sets consisting of "Pluto--Explored!" and "Views of Our Planets" highlighting NASA images of the eight planets in our solar system plus the dwarf planet Pluto; "The Moon" and "Star Trek."

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The stamps made their debut June 1 at the World Stamp Show-NY 2016 in New York held only once every 10 years. They're now available online and at USPS post offices across the U.S. The "Pluto--Explored!" Forever stamps, however, are only available online. USPS is issuing the Pluto--Explored! souvenir sheet as a companion to the Views of Our Planets stamp set.

The four "Star Trek-themed" stamps are a tribute to 50 years of the immortal franchise. Star Trek's first TV episode, The Man Trap, was aired by NBC on Sept. 8, 1966. The cult sci-fi show's first season consisted of 79 episodes.

The stamps show iconic images forever linked to Star Trek: the starship USS Enterprise against a background of the emblem of the United Federation of Planets; Captain James T. Kirk being energized by the transporter; a top-on view of the Enterprise and Spock's famous "Vulcan Salute" that consists of an upraised palm whose middle and ring fingers form a "V." The salute is accompanied by the salutation "Live long and prosper."

"U.S. Postal stamps express the enthusiasm and personality of senders to favorite themes in our society. From Mercury to Neptune, Pluto to Start Trek, it's exciting to see that planetary science and space exploration are being celebrated in these new 2016 stamps," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington.

Less than a year after NASA's nine-year, three-billion mile New Horizons mission to explore Pluto, USPS dedicated its "Forever" stamps to commemorate the historic event and dedicated a second set of stamps depicting NASA's incredible images of the solar system planets.

The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Pluto--Explored! and Views of Our Planets Forever stamps took place at World Stamp Show-NY 2016, the world's largest stamp show.

There's also an intriguing story behind the new set of Pluto--Explored! stamps. In 1991, NASA released a 29 cent "Pluto: Not Yet Explored" stamp that was placed inside the New Horizons spacecraft in 2006 before it flew by Pluto in 2015. Pluto was still classified as a planet back then. It's now officially a dwarf planet.

"The New Horizons project is proud to have such an important honor from the U.S. Postal Service," said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator.

USPS Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President David Williams said the Pluto: Not Yet Explored stamp served as a rallying cry for those who very much wanted to explore it.

"At the time, Pluto was still considered a planet, and it was the only one in our solar system that hadn't been visited by a spacecraft," said Williams.

A video of the 2016 collection can be viewed here.

TagsUnited States Postal Servic, Pluto--Explored!, Views of Our Planets, The Moon, Star Trek