Russian actress Yulia Peresild aims to be first movie star to shoot in space

America won the race to the moon, but Russia still proudly claims the most space "firsts," including the first satellite, the first man in space, the first woman, the first spacewalk, the first multi-member crew and the first space station.

Now, with commercial spaceflight blasting off in the United States, Russia aims to chalk up another first Tuesday, launching a Russian actress and director to the International Space Station to film scenes for a feature-length movie — "The Challenge" — about a medical emergency in orbit.

In so doing, the Russian space agency Roscosmos will upstage any western actors who might be considering a shoot in space. NASA and its partners are not currently planning any such mission, officials say, despite unsubstantiated media reports claiming Tom Cruise is considering such a project.