Audience in space: Astronauts watch 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' in orbit

WASHINGTON: Even as "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" continues its run in theatres across the world, it also got an audience at a place away from our home planet - the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei tweeted a photo of the astronauts aboard the space station enjoying the flick.

While Vande Hei did not mention "The Last Jedi" by name, you can clearly see the image of X-wing pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) on the station's big screen, Space.com reported on Sunday.

Space Station movie night, complete with “bungee cord chairs”, drink bags, and a science fiction flick! pic.twitter.com/IPZ2thI8rw

— Mark T. Vande Hei (@Astro_Sabot) 24 December 2017

NASA earlier confirmed that it would screen the movie in orbit in collaboration with Disney for the Expedition 54 crew members, including NASA astronauts Vande Hei, Joe Acaba and Scott Tingle. 

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Anton Shkaplerov and Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are the other members of the current crew. 

In a statement, NASA announced that "Disney will uplink the film to the space station through mission control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston." 

But this is not the first time a movie was screened on the space station. Disney also sent Star Wars: The Force Awakens to space in 2015 for the entertainment of the astronauts aboard the space station. 

According to a report in The Verge, enjoying movies on board the ISS is not unusual and the space station is stocked with an extensive digital library of more than 500 titles, including classics and newer hits.