As mentioned, great attention was paid to reproducing the spacecraft in "Gravity" because Cuarón wanted to honor the men and women behind the space program.
That may have resulted in a tribute for the film's astronaut advisor.
As earlier reported, NASA astronaut Cady Coleman spoke to Sandra Bullock from the space station, but that was done unofficially, arranged through their family members. As the "Gravity" credits reveal, astronaut Andrew Thomas provided the movie's technical advice.
Thomas, who joined NASA in 1992, flew four spaceflights, including three shuttle missions and a long-duration stay onboard the Russian space station Mir. "Gravity" appears to pay homage to Thomas with two "blink-and-you-might-miss-them" references.
Onboard the shuttle Explorer, the crew's STS-157 mission patch lists one of the astronauts as "Thomas."
And inside the International Space Station, as Ryan Stone floats through the modules, she flies through a node with a small yellow crossing sign stuck to one of the walls. The sign has the silhouette of a kangaroo.
Although Andrew Thomas is a U.S. citizen and flew as a NASA astronaut, he was born in Australia.
Click through to collectSPACE.com to find the easter egg in this article revealing the surprise collectSPACE had for “Gravity” star Sandra Bullock and director Alfonso Cuarón.
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