'The Challenge' actress tells behind-the-scenes stories

A poster for "The Challenge." File photo

Russian movie "The Challenge," which is now being screened in China, fictionalizes the story of a female surgeon sent to space to perform an operation on an injured cosmonaut.

Russian actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko are the only two movie crew members in the world to make it onto the International Space Station (ISS), as they boarded the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft Oct. 5, 2021 for 11 days to film the scenes for the movie in zero gravity.

In addition to the tense plot racing against time to save a life, the movie showcases stunning images of space, leading the audience to travel with the actress for a closer look at how cosmonauts work and live inside the ISS, which orbits over 400 kilometers above sea level.

Peresild, who was selected from 3,000 candidates three years ago, recalled at an event in Beijing in March that she and the director underwent rigorous training for three and a half months at a cosmonaut training center in Russia.

The good news about space is that people may not need to worry about gaining weight, Peresild shared. Mentioning that an astronaut’s regular caloric intake is around 3,000 calories each day, she said she had a good appetite in space. “The coffee in the American module was quite good, but the canned food in the Russian module was tastier,” she said.

Another lesson Peresild learned was how to adapt to the microgravity in space. As the crew only consisted of two members, the actress had to do her own makeup, using sticky hooks to keep cosmetic items in place and prevent them from floating away.

Looking out of the window of the Russian module offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a spectacular view, but it could also pose dangers. Peresild recalled a moment when the director instructed her to remain near the window as Earth was aligning closely with the sun. “We could see a blue arc line at the edges of the sun and Earth. He exclaimed, ‘Wow, it’s incredibly beautiful. Stay right here. Don’t move.’ The entire sequence lasted just 30 seconds. However, after that shot, I ended up with a sunburn,” she said. Without the protection of ozone layer that sits in the stratosphere to shield all creatures on Earth, it’s easy to be harmed by the ultraviolet rays.

In 2020, Hollywood star Tom Cruise was reported to be planning, with director Doug Liman, to film in space with the aid of Elon Musk’s SpaceX program. The plan has yet to be fulfilled. Shortly after “The Challenge” wrapped up shooting, Cruise contacted Shipenko to inquire about the details of filmmaking in space, as he was very interested in the process, said Du Liang, a Chinese filmmaker who has been engaged in film exchange between China and Russia.

“The most important thing is that it has attracted great interest from people in the world to space, which is a change with good results,” Peresild said. “Popularizing the intricate scientific realm of space science could encourage greater investment in this industry,” she added.

(China Daily)