Space & Astronomy

Olympic torch is handed over in space

By T.K. Randall
November 10, 2013

Image: ISS Astronaut on a Spacewalk
Credit: (PD) NASA The torch arrived on the International Space Station on Thursday as part of the relay leading up to the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games which will take place in Sochi, Russia.

Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy performed the handover of the torch during a spacewalk, however due to the lack of air the torch was not lit outside nor lit inside for safety reasons."Our goal here is to make it look spectacular," said Kotov earlier in the week. "We'd like to showcase our Olympic torch in space. We will try to do it in a beautiful manner. Millions of people will see it live on TV and they will see the station and see how we work."

This isn't the first time the Olympic torch has been blasted in to space however it is the first time it has been taken outside on a spacewalk.

The torch is due to head back down to Earth alongside three returning crew members later on today.

Source: NASA

Tags: Olympics, ISS