Only one factor was lacking from the primary European space station commander’s packing checklist: a thrift retailer costume.
Samantha Cristoforetti was sure for the International Space Station this previous April, with a particular spare-time mission: to cosplay (opens in new tab) because the well-known flight attendant from “2001: A House Odyssey.” (Within the 1968 movie, the unnamed character performed by Edwina Carroll inches round a space station hatch till she is completely inverted (opens in new tab) within the digicam’s view.)
To copy the attendant’s Pan-Am-style costume, Cristoforetti wanted a full-length white physique go well with topped with a snow-colored cap. “That isn’t one thing that I might purchase for myself, usually,” Cristoforetti advised House.com throughout a post-flight press convention with different SpaceX Crew-4 members on Thursday (Oct. 20). “But it surely appeared to suit completely for that want.”
The image-perfect film reproduction was an illustration of the teamwork Cristoforetti inculcated throughout her temporary command of space station actions, alongside together with her six-month orbital Expedition 67/68 mission, which concluded on Oct. 14.Â
“It’s important to make good use of the time you will have with these guys to set them up for fulfillment,” the European House Company (ESA) astronaut mentioned of her two-week time in command of as many as 10 folks, which included overseeing moonbound science for the Artemis program and two crewed spacecraft arriving or departing.Â
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To get the “2001” temper collectively, a SpaceX coaching technician helped Cristoforetti work out tips on how to dangle herself the wrong way up with Velcro, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov sourced a Velcro-infused hatch on his nation’s facet of the space station the place Cristoforetti may do the walk-around.
After filming in orbit, ESA video consultants on the bottom reduce the uncooked footage right into a rhythmic march timed to the fanfare opening of “Additionally Sprach Zarathustra,” which is the 1896 orchestral composition by composer Richard Strauss that each space fan immediately associates with “2001.”
The cosplay Cristoforetti did in orbit this yr (she additionally performed characters from the 2013 movie “Gravity” and the 2005 TV sequence “Battlestar Galactica“) pushed her out of her consolation zone, as she mentioned she has seen “about 15 films” in her life. The movie “2001,” nonetheless, is an exception.
In pictures: Making of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’
“I’ve truly watched [that] a number of instances, and I actually take pleasure in and respect it deeply as a murals, and one thing that has actually influenced our visible creativeness in terms of space,” she mentioned. “It is many years outdated now, however it would not really feel outdated. It feels very, very present and invaluable.”
Cristoforetti emphasised that, in space, the mission of staying protected, performing science and sustaining a 20-year-old space station comes first. However the first person to do a space TikTok added that any moments she will be able to spare to make a brand new connection is nice for public engagement — and for team-building.
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That is as a result of crew engagement is essential to orbital productiveness. To spice up each, the NASA astronauts flying with Cristoforetti on the Crew-4 mission bonded over foodie moments. Cristoforetti, an Italian, equipped a “plethora of olive oil” to boost orbital meal-making, in keeping with Crew-4 pilot Bob Farmer, who admitted to loving the delicacies her nation is known for: “I believe I used to be sort of a lasagna man, for probably the most half,” he mentioned.
Mission specialist and first-time flyer Jessica Watkins found that placing something in a tortilla “made it not less than 10% extra scrumptious,” together with a burger patty mixture she invented that included macaroni, cheese and “only a dab of barbecue sauce.” The “Watty burger,” as her Crew-4 members known as it, “sort of turned a factor.”
Crew-4 spacecraft commander Kjell Lindgren had so many Watty burger cravings that “I turned infamous for placing extra meals right into a tortilla than was most likely sensible, or attainable,” he recalled. “One night time, Bob was witness to a triple-decker — I put an additional facet in there — and he claimed I unhinged my jaw to have the ability to eat.”
Rising meals additionally introduced the astronauts collectively, with the crew forsaking tomatoes for the newly arrived SpaceX Crew-5 team to take pleasure in. However Lindgren mentioned there’s one thriller he hopes to unravel earlier than going again: the wavelength of Pepto Bismol-colored mild the crew’s peas, tomatoes and onions sunbathed in.
“It was pink. Very pink. Undoubtedly knew when the sunshine was on, as a result of the entire Columbus module would glow in pink,” Lindgren joked. However no matter wavelength it was, the ultra-rosy mild was doing the suitable factor: “The odor of the crops was completely superb.”
Comply with Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab). Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Fb.Â
