Rosetta mission’s ‘ambition’ spotlighted in film

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission stars with Game of Thrones actor Aidan Gillan and actress Aisling Franciosi in a short film released recently to promote the spacecraft’s exploration of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Titled Ambition, the five-minute film was shot on location in Iceland in a partnership between ESA and Platige Image.

“What is the key to life on Earth?” one of the characters asks. “Water,” the other responds.

A bleak, post-apocalypic setting serves as a backdrop as the film’s two main characters — Master and Apprentice — muse on the question. Rosetta’s name is worked into the dialogue, setting the stage for a primer on the mission.

Directed by Tomek Baginski, the film was screened Oct. 24 in London at the British Film Institute’s celebration of Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.