What games can you play in Earth’s orbit in microgravity to relax on the weekend after a hard workday? The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) recently came up with one of them called “Space Darts”. According to the video available on social networks, the newly created game looks like a great way to spend a weekend in orbit.
During the weekends, we sometimes spend our time playing games. It is one of our favourite activities to do together ????????
These games are the perfect way to unwind after work and prepare ourselves for the tasks ahead. pic.twitter.com/vmxypteMAd
— Sultan AlNeyadi (@Astro_Alneyadi) July 21, 2023
“During the weekends, we sometimes spend our time playing games. These games are the perfect way to unwind after work and prepare ourselves for the tasks ahead,” Sultan AlNeyadi, an astronaut of the United Arab Emirates, who posted the video, explained on Twitter.
The video does not explain the rules of the game of “Space Darts”. It is noticeable how the astronauts are trying to throw a ping-pong ball into one of two hoops: a large bead ring or a small metal ring that is slightly larger than the ball. Some of the crew members not only got into a tiny ring, but were also able to make an “edge throw” on the ISS, similar to how professional basketball players do on Earth.
The winner is Sergey Prokopyev, which is perhaps not surprising, given his long time in microgravity – he has already spent almost 200 days in space.
What else is being played on the ISS?
All kinds of ball games are quite popular on the space station. Last year, NASA astronauts conducted an orbital pitch at the same time as the hometown Houston Astros team competed in the Baseball World Series.
Now the Women’s World Cup is underway, which gives the astronauts another opportunity to cheer for their favorite teams again. Some past FIFA matches in orbit were held in 2018, as well as in 2014. For example, astronauts tried to repeat David Beckham’s hits in microgravity.
Astronauts also love Calvinball. For example, in 2018, the ISS crew published a video in which Newton’s second law was demonstrated in practice using a basketball.
“Space Darts”
By the way, “Space darts” is played not only by astronauts, but even by spacecraft. This is also jokingly called the DART mission. In September 2022, the mission’s spacecraft successfully crashed into the satellite of the asteroid Dimorphos, not only changing its orbit around Didymos as planned, but also creating a trail of dust and debris seen by numerous space telescopes.
Earlier we reported on how NASA released a manual for astronauts on how to discuss Ukraine on the ISS.
According to Space
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