Belying its austere reputation for pure science and the search for fact, the European Space Agency (ESA) is branching out -- into fantasy film-making.
ESA has released a six-and-a-half-minute work, complete with a TV star, Oscar-nominated director and dramatic digital effects, that turns the spotlight on its historic mission to explore a comet.
Called Ambition, the short film features Irish actor Aiden Gillen -- a star in TV's "Game of Thrones" -- as a mind master in a world where humans have the powers of demi-gods.
He oversees an apprentice, Aisling Franciosi, in using mental powers to assemble asteroids and planets, drawing on the pioneering experience of Rosetta to understand how life is formed.
The film -- which can be seen at http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2014/10/Ambition_the_film -- is directed by Poland's Tomek Baginski, nominated for an Oscar for a short movie, Katedra, in 2003.
Filmed in Iceland and digitally enhanced, it was released last Friday at a festival in London.
Launched in 2004, Rosetta is an unmanned probe that has taken more than a decade and more than six billion kilometres (3.75 billion miles) to reach its target, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Rosetta is now in close orbit around the comet at a distance of around 400 million kilometres from the Sun.
The scout will send down a robot lander, Philae, on November 12 to carry out on-the-spot scientific tests.
Comets are believed by astrophysicists to be made of ancient ice and dust left from the building of the Solar System.
Experts see them as time capsules of primeval material that may give insights into how the planets formed after the Sun flared into light.
Some also believe that, by bombarding the infant Earth with water and organic molecules, they provided our planet with the building blocks of life -- a theory called pan-spermia.
Source: AFP
GMT 06:01 2018 Saturday ,20 January
How to take a bullet, by 'Den of Thieves' star 50 CentGMT 08:40 2018 Thursday ,18 January
Brigitte Bardot slams #MeToo 'publicity-seeking' actressesGMT 09:52 2018 Tuesday ,16 January
The Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies aged 46GMT 06:46 2018 Friday ,12 January
Elvis fans all shook up on Australia party trainGMT 10:19 2018 Wednesday ,10 January
And maybe Oprah, US celebrity politicians aboundGMT 09:45 2018 Monday ,08 January
As Globes mark cinema's successes, audiences shy awayGMT 10:39 2018 Sunday ,07 January
Golden Globes celebrate the year of the genre movieGMT 10:15 2018 Friday ,05 January
Men in black mocked for flimsy #MeToo supportMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor