Space mission for Tom Cruise

Filming began for Space Station 3D in 1998

Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has narrated a film shot in space which will have its European première on the giant Imax screen at London's Science Museum.

Space Station 3D was filmed by astronauts with the aim of giving viewers the closest experience of space travel possible without leaving Earth.

The film shows the complex engineering work used to construct the International Space Station.

Tom Cruise was honoured to be invited to take part

The ambitious film was compiled by 25 international astronauts and cosmonauts from 16 countries, over two and a half years.

They were trained to use the 3D Imax cameras, lights and sound, which were all adapted for use in space.

Filming was undertaken over 337 days as the space station orbited the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour.

Educate audiences

The footage from the space mission is interspersed with intimate film of the daily life of the astronauts, including how they shower and shave in zero gravity.

Viewers will also be able to see how the International Space Station began, with the slotting together of the first two modules captured on film.

The astronauts were trained to use the Imax cameras

"The minute I saw the amazing 3D footage shot by the astronauts in space, I knew I had to be involved in this very special film," said Tom Cruise.

The filmmakers hope the movie will educate audiences on the importance of space to the planet's future and the amount of unseen work going on above the Earth.

Space Station 3D will open to the public on 27 April at London's Science Museum and the following day at the British Film Institute London Imax cinema.

It will then be released at Imax screens in the UK from 10 May.