All Time High [Preview: The Challenge]

 As I write this, Russian sci-fi feature Вызов (The Challenge) enters production. It's an unconventional movie featuring a very small production team. The plot involves a cardiac surgeon sent into orbit to save the life of a cosmonaut - and right now, director Klim Shipenko and actor Yulia Peresild are part way through a two-week stay on the International Space Station shooting the movie.

On Tuesday, Oct. 5, cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov will join actress Yulia Peresild and producer Klim Shipenko on a @Space_Station-bound Soyuz launch, expanding commercial space opportunities in filmmaking.

Our live coverage begins at 4:15 AM ET (8:15 AM UT): https://t.co/FY7OEDbIZN pic.twitter.com/O2yKF7E6Zk

— NASA (@NASA) October 1, 2021

According to this report by the BBC this project has divided opinions at Roskosmos, with some senior managers including Sergei Krikalev, head of crewed missions, strongly opposed to it. This surprised me as Krikalev is himself the star of a movie set in space - the documentary Out Of The Present, which is an account of his record-breaking stay on the space station Mir during a time of colossal political change below him on Earth. He launched to orbit from the communist Soviet Union but returned the following year to the emerging Russian Federation. His film is fascinating, often funny, exciting, inspiring and of historical importance.

Those arguing against the project felt that it would detract from the scientific mission of the ISS. But should science be the only reason for space exploration? If this really is a different way to inspire artists and creators, and to create works of art different from those on Earth, then perhaps experimenting with this new medium is also valuable. Perhaps we should send painters, songwriters and poets into orbit to see what they bring back. And there is certainly value in storytelling to inspire the next generation. In my very brief student attachment at NASA, I learned that NASA is staffed almost 100% by Trekkies - it really is true that Star Trek inspired thousands of people to go into science, engineering and space careers.