Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt during his final suit fit check at ILC Industries in Dover, Delaware, 8 March 1972.
(NASA)
SPACEMAN ‘72 – Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan on the Moon, December 12, 1972. Photo by Jack Schmitt.
(NASA)
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45 YEARS AGO TODAY: Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt on the Moon, December 12, 1972.
(NASA)
45 YEARS AGO TODAY: Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan takes the lunar rover for a test spin on the Moon, December 11, 1972. Photos by Jack Schmitt.
(NASA)
TODAY IN HISTORY: Hello from space!! On December 5, 2000, astronaut Carlos Noriega works near the solar array of the International Space Station.
(NASA)
7 Sports Astronauts Love Without Gravity (Including Football)
Astronauts onboard the International Space Station spend most of their time doing science, exercising and maintaining the station. But they still have time to shoot hoops and toss around a football.
From chess to soccer, there’s a zero-gravity spin to everything.
1. Baseball
Baseball: America’s favorite pastime. JAXA astronaut, Satoshi Furukawa shows us how microgravity makes it possible to be a one-man team. It would be a lot harder to hit home runs if the players could jump that high to catch the ball.
2. Chess
Yes, it’s a sport, and one time NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff (right) played Earth on a Velcro chess board. An elementary school chess team would pick moves that everyone could vote for online. The winning move would be Earth’s play, and then Chamitoff would respond. About every two days, a move would be made. But who won the historic Earth vs. Space match? Earth! Chamitoff resigned after Earth turned its pawn into a queen, but it was game well played.
3. Soccer
NASA astronaut Steve Swanson put a new spin on soccer by juggling the ball upside down. However, he might not have considered himself upside down. On the space station, up and down are relative.
4. Gymnastics
NASA astronauts usually sign off their videos with a zero-gravity somersault (either forwards or backwards). But astronauts are also proficient in handstands, flips and twists. The predecessor to the International Space Station, the Skylab, had the best space for the moves. The current space station is a bit tight in comparison.
5. Basketball
Objects that aren’t heavy don’t move very well on the space station. They kind of just float. It’s like Earth, but exaggerated. For example, on Earth a beach ball wouldn’t go as far as a basketball. The same is true in space, which is why playing with a basketball in space is more fun than playing with a beach ball.
6. Golf
People talk about hitting golf balls off skyscrapers, but what about off the International Space Station? While golf isn’t a normal occurrence on the station, it’s been there. One golf company even sent an experiment to the station to find out how to make better golf clubs.
7. Football
Zero gravity doesn’t make everything easier. Astronauts need to relearn how to throw things because their brains need to relearn how to interpret sensory information. A bowling ball on the space station no longer feels as heavy as a bowling ball on Earth. When astronauts first throw things on the space station, everything keeps going too high. That would put a wrench in your spiral for a couple of months. But once you adjust, the perfect spiral will just keep spiraling!
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Well this looks pretty fun.
45 YEARS AGO TODAY: Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt by the lunar rover on the Moon, December 13, 1972.
TODAY IN HISTORY: On October 11, 1984, astronaut Kathryn Sullivan becomes the first American woman to walk in space. With mission specialist David Leestma, she performed a 3.5-hour EVA, operating a system designed to show that a satellite could be refueled in orbit. (NASA)
Five storied female NASA pioneers will soon grace toy-store shelves, in Lego form.
The Danish company announced on Tuesday that it would produce the Women of NASA set, submitted by science writer Maia Weinstock.
“Women have played critical roles throughout the history of the U.S. space program,” Weinstock wrote in her project proposal. “Yet in many cases, their contributions are unknown or under-appreciated – especially as women have historically struggled to gain acceptance in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”
She said the set is meant to shed light on the rich history of women in STEM professions.
Women Of NASA To Be Immortalized — In Lego Form
Photos: Maia Weinstock
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