Canada Post is introducing a series of Star Trek-themed stamps, including this one showing the image of DeForest Kelley's character, Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy. (Canada Post)

When Star Trek first aired on TV decades ago, the crew members of the Enterprise were in the midst of a five-year mission "to boldly go where no man has gone before."

Lately, however, its well-known characters have been going to a place where many people have gone before — onto stamps being pasted on envelopes mailed by Canadians.

Canada Post has been rolling out a series of Star Trek-themed stamps, one at a time, in honour of the iconic TV show's 50th anniversary. (That mark won't officially be reached until later this year, as the CBS website indicates the show made its debut in September of 1966.)

The latest of these stamps was publicly unveiled in London, Ont., on Tuesday. It features an image of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, as portrayed by the late actor DeForest Kelley.

On Star Trek, McCoy was the ship's doctor. He was a character with a crusty demeanour, who was a close confidant of Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock.

Separate stamps featuring Kirk and Spock have already been revealed, along with another featuring an image of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the chief engineer on the Enterprise.

The beloved Star Trek character Spock is also part of the series of stamps that Canada Post is rolling out. (Supplied)

Jim Phillips, Canada Post's director of stamp services, said the decision to bring these stamps out stems in part from the clear Canadian connections to the series.

There was William Shatner, of course, who played the ship's captain, as well as the Vancouver-born James Doohan who played Scotty. And there's also Vulcan, the Alberta town that embraces the fact that its name is the same as Spock's home planet.

Phillips said a forthcoming and still-to-be-revealed stamp will highlight a "little known" Canadian connection.

He said Star Trek fans and the rest of the mail-using public can get their hands on the full lineup of stamps soon.

But he predicted they will be popular.

"They are going to be going at warp speed, when they go on sale," he said.