Torn between dreams of becoming a reality TV star and an astronaut? You're in luck: Production company Space Hero Inc. snagged one seat on a 2023 mission to the International Space Station—and wants to give it to the winner of an unscripted television show.
The spectacle, dubbed Space Hero, "will search the entire globe for an everyday citizen with a deep love for space exploration," a company press release said. Anyone from any background can become the first globally selected cosmic explorer to visit the ISS.
"Space Hero is the new frontier for the entertainment sector, offering the first-ever truly off-planet experience," company chairman Marty Pompadur, former News Corp Europe chief, told the news site. "We aim to reinvent the reality TV category by creating a multi-channel experience that offers the biggest prize ever, to the biggest audience possible. Space Hero is about opening space up to everyone—not only to astronauts and billionaires."
Contestants, according to Deadline, will endure intense training that challenges their physical, mental, and emotional strength and stamina—not unlike what certified astronauts undergo before traveling into space. It's unclear whether folks will be systematically voted off Survivor-style or stick around for a final reckoning; Deadline suggested the finale will be broadcast live across the world for viewers to vote on a winner, who will then receive full training before taking off on a 10-day vacation to the ISS alongside professional astronauts—all chronicled by Space Hero.
Details are sparse; based on a Thursday Instagram post, Space Hero Inc. is expected to make an official announcement next week. The production company partnered with aerospace manufacturers Axiom Space and SpaceX for the project.
"We see the world changing in front of our eyes," Space Hero Inc. co-founder Thomas Reemer said in a statement. "In times like these we yearn to look up to people for the right reasons, so it's time to look amongst ourselves to find the heroes that will inspire a bright future."