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10 Really Fun Things You Can Do in Zero Gravity

Photo from Zero Gravity Corporation

Originally Posted On: https://www.gozerog.com/article/10-really-fun-things-you-can-do-in-zero-gravity/

 

So, you’re weightless. The world is your oyster– somersaults, backflips, imaginary Matrix bullet dodging– you name it.

While this list is by no means exhaustive, we’ve rounded some of the ten best things you can do in zero gravity to spark your imagination.

1.Backflips, Anyone?

By tucking and twisting your body in zero gravity, you can do a backflip like Olympics gymnasts that are so fun to watch. The problem is that once you start, you’ll keep doing backflips repeatedly until you can find a way to stop your momentum. Bring a friend!

Fun Fact: When in space for extended periods, astronauts have to exercise at least 2.5 hours a day to keep from losing muscle mass and bone density. Special equipment is used because, after all, zero gravity is weightless, and lifting a 200 pound barbell with your pinky finger just doesn’t cut it as exercise.

2.Fly Your Falcons

Do you still have your Hot Wheels or Lego Millennium Falcon toy starship? It belongs in zero gravity! You won’t have to hang on to it this time to keep it from falling to the ground. Now here’s the big question: which of its pilots are you? Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, or Chewbacca?

Fun Fact: The 5,195-piece Lego Millennium Falcon included in their Star Wars Ultimate Collectors Series was the largest Lego set ever sold until the Lego Taj Mahal in 2008. The updated Millennium Falcon set released in 2017 has 7,541 pieces, and at $799.99, it’s still the most expensive Lego set sold commercially.

3.Space Jam

Wonder what getting ‘dunked’ feels like when you’re weightless? Curling up into a fetal position and letting others pass you back and forth and try to make a basket with your body can be one of the most fun things to do in zero gravity. You don’t even need a basket because, well, who’s keeping score anyway?

Fun Fact: Dribbling a basketball in zero gravity is essentially impossible. Any effort to bounce the ball would send it flying away from you.

4.Spiderman, Spiderman– Crawling

It’s hard to walk in weightlessness, but crawling up one wall, across the ceiling, and down the other wall is comparatively easy. If you can find something to hang on to, that is, so you don’t go floating away. Gives a whole new meaning to “learning to crawl before you can walk.”

Fun Fact: Pavement ants carried aboard the ISS in 2014 would fall off the walls of their containers each time they attempted to crawl up, but many still managed to engage their six little feet to explore a sizeable area. About 10% simply floated around whenever away from their nests.

5.Dig Out That Pen

Did your grandparents get you one of those Space Pens when you were a kid? The ones sold by the Fisher Space Pen Company that could write when in space, or upside-down, or underwater, or on wet paper? What better place to test it out than while floating around with it in zero gravity!

Fun Fact: When space flight began, astronauts used pencils, but broken, floating graphite tips could be dangerous, and their flammability was a risk. NASA later switched to pens made by…yep…the Fisher Space Pen Company. The USA Apollo program and the Soviet Union Soyuz missions both used the same Fisher space pens that have been gifted to countless American space enthusiasts.

6.Play Songs about Space

To enhance a zero gravity experience, why not listen to music about zero gravity experiences? Think “Rocket Man” by Elton John. “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra. “Space Cowboy” by the Steve Miller Band. “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden … the list is nearly as endless as, well, space.

Fun Fact: “Space Station #5” by the group Montrose was released in 1973. It was Sammy Hagar’s recording debut as the band’s lead singer. Hagar later became famous as a solo act and frontman for Van Halen.

7.Drink the Spheres

You can’t just pour yourself a glass of water when in zero gravity. It would stick to the walls of the glass and be hard to sip. When poured out in a zero gravity environment, water and other liquids form free-floating spheres. To drink, you catch the blobs in your mouth. More fun than blowing soap bubbles, and tastes a lot better too.

Fun Fact: Carbonated liquids like beer and soft drinks aren’t suitable for consuming in zero-gravity atmospheres their bubbles cause what are known as “wet burps.”

8.It’s a Bird; It’s a Plane ….

Coming aboard a zero gravity flight with a Superman cape attached to your spacesuit is a tradition for many space tourists! Kick off the bulkhead, spread your arms, and float down the plane’s length with your cape in tow. We’ll make sure to put away all the Kryptonite first!

Fun Fact: Eleven different actors have played Superman on radio, television, and film. The most prolific (in movies) was the late Christopher Reeve, who portrayed the Man of Steel in four different feature films between 1978 and 1987.

9.You’re the Star

In zero gravity, you can be a star (in more ways than one). What better place to act out a scene from your favorite space movie? Bring some accessories for your favorite space character to accent your space suit and show off your theatrical chops with a scene out of Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek, E.T., Aliens, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or another favorite.

Fun Fact: A documentary about science, education, and the next generation, “Zero Gravity,” follows middle school students competing in a national competition to code satellites aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The film debuted in 2021. For a list of current screenings, visit the film’s website.

10.Fun Research Starts Here

Zero-G’s Weightless Lab research program provides affordable access to space environments at unprecedented level. Conduct experiments in biomedical and pharmaceutical research, fluid and fundamental physics, materials science, aerospace engineering, space exploration hardware and human space habitation.

Zero-G encourages projects from corporations, governments, universities, and individuals alike that want to conduct serious investigations in Martian, Lunar, zero and hyper gravity environments. Clients report that parabolic flight is a critical first step toward achieving their space research objectives and raising test readiness levels to better ensure experiments will succeed.

Fun Fact: Back when space flights first began, NASA worried whether astronauts would be able to chew and swallow in zero gravity and tested eating in space on Project Mercury flights from 1961 to 1963. Fortunately, your body’s digestive process works fine despite gravitational shifts, although some people notice a reduced sense of taste.

Final Thoughts: Experience It!

Experience true weightlessness and try out a few of these fun ideas during your Zero-G Experience®. Your flight will include 15 separate periods of weightlessness (parabolas) over five hours aboard our specially modified Boeing 727, a zero gravity flight suit and other merchandise, participation certificate, photos, and videos.
There’s no more memorable gift for yourself or others. Available on scheduled dates at various locations across the U.S. Book your flight today or purchase a gift card.

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