Next ISS crew pose as Jedi in official group photo - SlashGear

JC Torres

They will boldly go where other men have gone before. Or are we mixing up pop culture references. After all, it's not that easy to think of Jedi Knights and the almost magical Force when you think about astronauts. But that is exactly what the Expedition 45 crew bound for the International Space Station later this year did for their official photo, donning the robes, and weapons, of the Jedi order with the slogan "The Science Continues" set in the style of a Star Wars film.

It is almost quite ironic considering that between Star Trek and Star Wars, it is the latter that is less science-oriented, with some categorizing it as "science fantasy" instead of science fiction. Nevertheless, George Lucas' creation is a huge geek phenomenon that no astronaut will be unfamiliar with. In fact, the idea for the posters theme came from NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren (bottom left), who is probably the newbie of the team as this mission is his first trip to space. He is joined by Scott Kelly (bottom right), Mikhail Kornienko (middle right), Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov (top right) and Oleg Kononenko (top left), and Kimiya Yui (middle left) from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Other elements of the poster also give homage to the franchise. The group's official patch, depicted in the middle, seems to resemble an Imperial Star Destroyer, coincidentally or otherwise. To the left is the European Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV with its solar panels that is reminiscent of the X-wing starfighter. Of course, there are also non-Star Wars objects there, like the Russian Soyuz rocket that will take the crew to orbit and the International Space Station itself that ominously looms at the very top.

This is definitely not the first time the astronauts have made references to pop culture nor is it the first Star Wars association. In fact, back in 2007, the very same lighstaber prop used by Luke Skywalker was flown to the ISS aboard the space shuttle Discovery. It is perhaps fated that Expedition 45 will be ending in November, giving at least some of the crew enough time to see the screening of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

VIA: Collect Space

via Science - Google News http://ift.tt/1B5uq8C

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