Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is widely considered one of the best science fiction movies of all time and it’s full of sequences and images that have stood the test of time. From the bone which becomes a spaceship, to the unblinking red eye of Hal, to the rotating hallway – there are so many moments that have become iconic.
Circles are a huge motif in the classic science fiction movie, including the man who jogs in a giant circle around the spaceship for exercise. Another famous use of the circle is the stewardess on the lunar lander who collects some trays of food, then walks up the walls of a circular corridor before exiting while upside-down.
Now, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has just returned home from the International Space Station, where she lived for six months. While she was onboard, she tweeted and posted videos to TikTok, giving people on earth an insight into life onboard. And one of her last experiments before returning home was to recreate the 2001 scene with the stewardess, using Velcro shoes.
Cristoforetti wore an authentic replica of the white jumpsuit and egg-shaped hat that is worn in the movie. She posted a video of herself walking in a circle, and you can hear the classic Velcro-tearing sound every time she lifts her foot. Her caption reads; “2022: A Space Odyssey. Turns out, yes, you can walk with Velcro shoes. Slowly, very very slowly.”
This isn’t the only movie or TV reference that Cristoforetti made while aboard the ISS. She has also cosplayed as a Star Trek Voyager character, Sandra Bullock’s character in Gravity, and Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica. We love a science fiction geek.
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