Known for its staunch support of nothing but pure, hard science, the
European Space Agency surprised some with its branching into fantasy
film-making.
by John
Tyburski
Copyright © Daily
Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Are sci-fi
film aficionados in for smarter works of science fantasy? It is tempting to
think so now that the European Space Agency (ESA) has released its first foray
into the world of fiction film-making. The ESA produced a six-and-a-half-minute
film that puts a spotlight on the agency’s historic mission to study a comet.
The film,
called Ambition, features Irish actor Aiden Gillen, star of the TV hit
series Game of Thrones. Gillen plays a mind master in a world where
humans are elevated to the status and powers of dem-gods.
The short
film draws its imaginative elements from the actual Rosetta project intended to
help humans better understand how life began. Gillen’s character supervises and
trains an apprentice, Aisling Franciosi, in using his mind powers to build
planets, asteroids, and other space objects.
The
project was filmed in Iceland and was directed by Poland’s Tomek Baginski, who
was nominated for an Oscar in 2003 for his short movie called Katedra.
The digitally enhanced Ambition was presented last Friday at a festival
in London. The film is available online for
viewing.
The
Rosetta mission was launched in 2004, has traveled almost 4 billion miles over
10 years, and is soon to rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, or “rubber duck.” The
unmanned probe is now in close orbit of the comet and following it on its path
toward the sun. A scout, Philae, will be maneuvered to the comet’s surface on
November 12.
Many
astrophysicist believe that comets are remnants of the formation of our solar
system. Composed of ice and dust, comets are considered “time capsules” of
primeval matter that may hold secrets on how the planets formed after the birth
of the sun.
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