RUSSIA: Once at the cutting edge of space exploration and scientific research, the cash-strapped International Space Station is now having to involve itself in commercial stunts - this time it is golf in space.
Last night Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin was preparing to space-walk out of the ISS, position himself on the edge of the orbiting station and strike a golf ball into the abyss. The exploit was conceived by Canadian golf equipment maker Element 21, which timed it to coincide with prime-time US Thanksgiving day viewing. It has reportedly cost the company $5 million (€3.86 million).
Critics, however, say the project has sunk to a new low. Robert Park, a University of Maryland physicist and long-time critic of the ISS, said: "This is desperately poor judgment. It does convey a perfectly accurate image that this is really a very trivial mission."
Element 21 denies the stunt is simply an advert, saying it pays homage to astronaut Alan Shepherd's drive on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.