There may not be any movie theaters in space, but that won't stop the Expedition 54 crew from watching the new "Star Wars" movie aboard the International Space Station.
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" hits movie theaters on Earth today (Dec. 15), and NASA has beamed up a digital copy of the film to the space station, so the astronauts on board won't miss out on any of the action — and they won't need to worry about any spoilers from those who have seen the movie on Earth.
"I can confirm that the astronauts will get a chance to view the film in space, but [I] don't have a timeline for when at this time," NASA spokesman Dan Huot told Space.com in an email. [The Greatest "Star Wars" Villains Ever]
There are currently three crewmembers aboard the space station: NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. Three more crewmembers are expected to arrive on Sunday (Dec. 17), so the crew may hold off on screening the film until all six members of Expedition 54 can watch the movie together. Another trio of space travelers departed the space station and returned to Earth early this morning, arriving just in time for the worldwide release of "The Last Jedi."
While the astronauts in space don't have a movie theater with a giant screen, they do have a special projection screen and a high-definition projector that they can use to watch movies and the occasional football game. In 2015, astronauts also watched "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" on their zero-g projection screen.
Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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