Out of this world

IT’S A big week for space news. NASA announced that it’s drawing up plans to put the first woman on the moon by 2024. But that’s not the only headline going to infinity and beyond. The other is certainly more unexpected.

What do Tom Cruise and Elon Musk have in common, aside from being wealthy men? Apparently they both have dreams of shooting an action movie in outer space, real outer space, none of that green-screen Star Trek stuff. Here’s more from CNN:

“The head of NASA confirmed Tuesday that the space agency is working with actor Tom Cruise to make a movie on the International Space Station. A NASA spokesperson also confirmed to CNN Business that Cruise will launch into space and stay aboard the station, a multibillion-dollar laboratory that orbits about 250 miles above the Earth.”

And he’s not just shooting a movie in outer space for bragging rights; NASA has a practical reason for green-lighting the project.

“We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASA’s ambitious plans a reality,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said.

And why not? Teens grow up watching movies about certain professions and jobs, and those stories and actors might just motivate them to pursue dreams in those same positions.

And there really isn’t a better actor than Tom Cruise to be the first actor in outer space. The 57-year-old does a lot of his own stunt work.

Hopefully we will still have some theaters around by the time this movie is made and released. Something tells us a film shot in outer space needs to be seen on the big screen.