🚀 China has just launched a cinematic revolution by filming the first 8K movie in space! SHENZHOU 13, also known as Blue Planet Outside the Window, premiered in theaters this Friday, offering a stunning, ultra-high-definition glimpse of life aboard China’s space station.
🎬 Shot by astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu during their mission from October 2021 to April 2022, the 90-minute documentary chronicles China’s first six-month stay in orbit and features the country’s first female spacewalk by Wang Yaping. Narrated in Wang’s voice, the film delivers both epic “blue marble” views of Earth and intimate moments of daily life—exercise routines, haircuts, music sessions, video calls home and even New Year celebrations.
🔧 Filming in microgravity was no small feat. Heavy 8K cameras had to be redesigned with aerospace engineers, shrinking them to the size of cargo parcels. With only 40 memory cards on board—each storing just a dozen minutes of footage—the team reminded astronauts that there would be no retake. All coordination came through emails and a detailed custom checklist.
🌍 The premiere drew praise from global space experts, from Senegal Space Agency Director Maram Kaire to Russian academic Lev Zelenyi and COSPAR’s Bernard Foing. China’s top lunar scientist Wu Weiren predicts that 8K filming will become standard on future lunar, asteroid and deep-space missions.
✨ Director Zhu Yiran hopes SHENZHOU 13 will spark curiosity and inspire the next generation. Space is not just a distant domain, he says: it’s connected to human life and emotions. Ready for liftoff? This film proves that the sky is just the beginning.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
