Who says catching up on the latest trends on Earth is impossible in outer space?
Astronauts aboard the largest artificial body in Earth's orbit, the International Space Station, have demonstrated their ingenuity by posting an unbeatable (and literally out of this world) version of the Mannequin Challenge.
The ISS crew captured a video showing five of the six astronauts performing the challenge while floating in microgravity.
Space Station Mannequin Challenge
The footage begins with a crew member rigidly floating.
As the camera surveys the setting, the astronauts keep themselves still. One part of the video shows an astronaut coming out of the hatch in the ceiling of the space station.
The video also shows the other ISS crew members lodged in the footholds and handholds, as if they were repairing things; at the same time the ones who didn't cling onto something stay afloat perfectly still.
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet posted the video on social media, explaining how delightful it was because they did the challenge on a rest day: Sunday. Even Pesquet was amazed by the outcome.
"The result is kind of sci-fi spooky, don't you think?" he asks.
Pesquet and his fellow astronauts are part of Expedition 50.
What Is The Mannequin Challenge?
The Mannequin Challenge is an internet video trend in which people mimic mannequins and stay frozen while a camera moves around to film them. The clip is normally accompanied by Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” song as the background music.
The craze also began when students in Jacksonville, Florida posted their videos on social media, which then had followups from other groups. This caused the craze to spread and start trending worldwide.
Celebrities and athletes, such as U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and the 2016 NBA Finals Champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers, have participated in the challenge.
The NBA champions visited the White House to be congratulated by President Barack Obama; ultimately it led them to making their own Mannequin Challenge video.
Other stars who also did the challenge include Adele, Paul McCartney, Ellen DeGeneres, Stephen Curry, Kevin Hart, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, James Corden, and many more.
What’s Next For The Expedition 50 Crew?
Back in space, though, it's not all fun and games. Members of the Expedition 50 are set to carry out a spacewalk next month to upgrade the power system for the ISS.
The commander, Shane Kimbrough, will join Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson in performing the first part of the upgrade on Jan. 6. The work will continue through Jan. 13, which will then be led by Kimbrough and Flight Engineer Pesquet.
The ability to keep steady in microgravity the way the crew members did in the Space Station Mannequin Challenge comes in handy during the more serious parts of their ISS missions. The astronauts will use several robotic operations to replace the space station's old nickel-hydrogen batteries with new ones.
The upcoming spacewalks will be the 196th and 197th ever to be carried out as part of the ISS's assembly and maintenance.
Watch Pesquet's video titled "Space Station Mannequin Challenge" below:
