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That's a wrap! Actress Yulia Peresild and producer Klim Shipenko returned to Earth with cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy after 12 days shooting a movie on the International Space Station. The touchdown aboard Soyuz MS-18 wrapped the on-orbit filming of "Вызов" ("Challenge" in English), which has been billed as the first feature length narrative movie shot in space. Novitskiy landed after 191 days, bringing his three mission total to 531 days in space.
Shatner's space trek: William Shatner went where no 90-year-old has gone before, lifting off on Blue Origin's New Shepard to become the oldest person to soar into space. Shatner launched with Audrey Powers of Blue Origin and paying passengers Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries on the company's second human flight. The 10-minute hop safely landed in West Texas, near Blue Origin's launch site.
ESA astronaut Barbie: Mattel is celebrating World Space Week and its theme this year of "Women in Space" with a new Barbie doll styled after Samantha Cristoforetti, the first Italian women to fly into space. The doll, part of Barbie's Signature Role Model line, depicts Cristoforetti in a spacesuit ready for a spacewalk. Made in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), the doll's sale will fund a bursary to encourage a new generation of explorers.
'For realsies!' William Shatner, Star Trek's Captain Kirk, is set to fly into space on Blue Origin's New Shepard. "For realsies!" said the 90-year-old actor, who is soon to be the oldest person to enter the final frontier. The NS-18 mission will be crewed by Shatner, Chris Boshuizen of Planet Labs, Glen de Vries with Dassault Systems and Audrey Powers, Blue Origin's head of mission operations.
Zero-G Skittles: Skittles is putting its new guarantee — "Now floats in space!" — to the test with a sweepstakes for a zero-g flight and bags of Zero-G Skittles. First announced in July in celebration of the candy's launch on Blue Origin's New Shepard, the limited edition packs of Planet Pineapple, Rocket Raspberry and Berry Blast-flavor candies are Skittles' first blue and purple only mix. To enter, fans only need to buy a Skittles product from Amazon and register the order on the Skittles In Space contest website.
The real space behind Space 220: The concepts behind Disney's new Space 220 restaurant were developed by imagineers rather than NASA engineers, but that does not mean it is all fantasy. Guests dining aboard the Centauri space station in Earth orbit should be on the lookout for several subtle (and not-so-subtle) nods to NASA's history and the International Space Station.
Rollerball rollout: Retro 51 has launched sales of its new Space Shuttle Enterprise Tornado, a limited edition rollerball pen that reproduces the look of the winged orbiter. Produced in partnership with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, the $60 pen can be purchased through Retro 51's retailers or with a print autographed by Enterprise commander Fred Haise through the foundation.
Inspiration4 lands: Three days after leaving Earth to orbit higher than the Hubble Space Telescope, the Inspiration4 crew returned to the planet, splashing down aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon "Resilience" on Saturday (Sep. 18). Jared Issacman, Sian Proctor, Hayley Arceneaux and Chris Sembroski spent the privately-funded mission raising funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, collecting medical data, calling celebrities, and looking down at Earth.
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Lucy in the sky: NASA's first mission to the Trojan asteroids, the two swarms of small worlds that lead and follow Jupiter in its orbit around the Sun, lifted off on Saturday (Oct. 16) from Cape Canaveral. The robotic probe named "Lucy" will spend 12 years flying by a record seven Trojan asteroids and one main belt asteroid, collecting data about the "fossils" from the formation of the solar system.
Shenzhou 13 launches: China launched its second crewed mission to its space station on Friday (Oct. 15) to prepare for the orbiting outpost's planned expansion. Shenzhou 13 crewmates Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu will spend six months aboard the Tianhe core module. Zhai, who in 2008 made China's first spacewalk, is the Shenzhou 13 commander. Wang was China's second woman to fly into space and will be the first woman to enter the country's space station. Ye is on his first space mission.
Endurance: The four members of SpaceX's Crew-3 chose the name "Endurance" for the new Dragon spacecraft that will deliver them to and from the International Space Station. The name was selected for several reasons, from its expected longevity to its connection to "one of the best examples of real-life leadership," the 1914 Shackleton voyage to Antarctica. Endurance now joins Endeavour and Resilience to comprise SpaceX's current fleet of Dragons.
Ride quarter revised: The United States Mint has revealed the official artwork for its 2022 American Women quarters, including a coin honoring the first American woman in space. Designed by Elana Hagler, the Sally Ride coin differs from its original concept by the addition of a NASA patch and the astronaut's name tag. The Mint has yet to announce the release date for the Sally Ride coin.
3, 2, 1... action! Russia launched its Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft to the International Space Station on Tuesday (Oct. 5), with a film crew ready to produce the first full-length movie in space. Actress Yulia Peresild, director Klim Shipenko and veteran cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a two-orbit track to rendezvous with the space station. Peresild and Shipenko will spend 12 days filming scenes for the film, "Challenge."
Orbital Planes: Photographer Roland Miller shares his own slant on the space shuttle in "Orbital Planes," his third photography book now being crowdfunded on Kickstarter. Miller made an effort to document the shuttle as it transitioned into retirement. The 200-page hardcover book includes 150 color photographs and Miller's accounts of his interactions with the personnel who worked the program.
Little People Sally Ride: Fisher-Price's new Little People Collector "Inspiring Women" set includes a 2.5-inch-tall toy figure of astronaut Sally Ride. Chosen for her role as America's first woman to fly into space, Ride is honored alongside figures for poet Maya Angelou, civil rights activist Rosa Parks and aviator Amelia Earhart. The set depicts the late Ride in her shuttle flight suit as she wore in 1983.
Space food: Just a brief space elevator ride away, Space 220 opened Monday (Sep. 20) at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center offering a truly unique (g)astronomical experience. Located in the Mission: SPACE pavilion, the restaurant, set aboard the space station Centauri, features a space-inspired menu and virtual view of Earth from orbit.
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