European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti joked that the only flaw in this disguise was the hair.
The Italian astronaut posed on the International Space Station in much the same way as Sandra Bullock, who visited the orbiting complex fantastically in the 2013 film Gravity. Dressed similarly to Bullock, Cristoforetti, who played fictional NASA astronaut Ryan Stone in a thrilling adventure ignited by a cloud of space debris that hit the Stone Space Shuttle on screen.
Hello Doctor Stone! Quick question for you. How do you keep your hair stable? #AskingForAFriend,” said Cristoforetti tweet (Opens in a new tab) In the photo, it was released June 19 after the sci-fi adventure was shown on the International Space Station.
Related: Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti makes history with 1st TikTok from the International Space Station
Her disguise was so intricate, in fact, that it took at least seven years to accomplish, astronaut Scott Kelly, formerly of NASA, shared on Twitter. Kelly attempted to snap a photo of Cristoforetti doing the same pose while on a one-year stint in 2014-15, but lost the opportunity due to luck timing.
“Here’s the original photo failed” Kelly wrote on Twitter (Opens in a new tab) With the undated attempt at some point during his mission, which perfectly shows Bullock on screen – but misses Cristoforetti completely.
He described the “loser” as one of the biggest regrets on his last mission in space, noting that he waited late to pick up the camera after Cristoforetti floated in his workout clothes, presumably on his way to do something else. (The astronauts have very tight schedules in space to make the most of their time there, although NASA gives them time off for mental health reasons.)
Kelly said on June 19: “Very frustrating at the time, but everything is fine now. Thank you, Samantha.” The “Star Trek” astronaut, however.)
The long gap between space flight opportunities is not unusual. Astronauts on the International Space Station need about two to 2.5 years of mission training before setting off on a long-duration mission, which typically takes about six months. It also takes about one day on Earth to recover each day in space.
Together, these timelines mean that at best, there may be a gap of 3 to 3.5 years between individual astronaut missions. However, this number does not take into account the limited number of seats on spacecraft available to bring people into orbit, which could reduce flight opportunities.
The frequency of astronauts’ flights also depends on the amount of the original space agency’s contribution to the ISS agreement; Fortunately for Cristoforetti, the European Space Agency (ESA) is among the biggest contributors after NASA and Russia.
Cristoforetti also took some time between space visits to lead a nearly two-week underwater mission known as NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) 23 in June 2019, which required her own training and recovery course.
Given all of these factors, Cristoforetti’s return to space as part of Expedition 67 (still underway) occurred seven years after it completed its first nearly 200-day spaceflight in 2014-15 with Missions 42 and 43.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @hawellspace. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.