“NASA is excited to work with Tom Cruise on a film aboard the International Space Station!”
Rabat – American actor Tom Cruise is in early talks with NASA and Space X to shoot an action-adventure movie in outer space.
Cruise would be the first actor in history to star in a movie filmed in space, and would receive full training to become an astronaut.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine confirmed the project in a May 5 tweet, indicating that it would be filmed at the International Space Station (ISS).
The station is situated 250 miles above Earth and hosts scientists carrying out research and conducting a number of cutting-edge experiments.
NASA is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station! We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make @NASA’s ambitious plans a reality. pic.twitter.com/CaPwfXtfUv
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) May 5, 2020
“We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASA ’s ambitious plans a reality,” Bridenstine emphasized, commenting on such a film’s potential to contribute to the public good.
The space mission is scheduled for May 27, and counts several timing challenges related to the actor’s preparation for travel. The evaluation process that includes medical tests, screenings, and extensive trainings usually takes two years to accomplish.
Cruise has physically distanced experience with the space station, as narrator of a 2002 IMAX documentary that was filmed on board the ISS.
Although Cruise, NASA, and SpaceX are reportedly partnering on the film, “no studio is in the mix at this stage,” according to Deadline.
There is no official declaration as of yet saying how or when Cruise will travel to the ISS, or who will accompany him as crew members.
With Russia now being the only country to fly humans to and from outer space under a government program, private American aerospace manufacturers SpaceX and Boeing have been working for years to acquire the ability.
Dozens of countries collaborated in building the ISS, but the US and Russia remain its primary operators.
Maintaining and supporting the ISS consumes approximately $3 to $4 billion annually,
approximately half of NASA’s annual human spaceflight budget, according to the aeronautics agency.
