Do astronauts float or freefall?

I recently called up an engineering friend to chat about her time working on NASA’s Mission Control. She told me all about her team who was responsible for the shuttle’s life support and what it was like to sit in Mission Control. I was fascinated to learn how astronauts train to go into space with simulations and how they prepare for life in “zero gravity”. 

That is when she told me something I never really considered. Astronauts are not actually floating in space but rather free falling toward earth. That’s why they train for life in space on the “Vomit Comet” because it feel more like being on a roller coaster than floating on gentle breeze as one would imagine.

So of course, my kiddos and I had to check out this phenomenon ourselves using a playdough astronaut of course! 

What you need: a plastic cup, playdough, string, and tape

What you do:

• • Cut one piece of string about 20″ long and attach to the cup with tape forming a long handled bucket
  • Cut another piece of string about 5″ long and mold a piece of playdough on it. The playdough will be like your astronaut in space.
  • Attach the string to the middle of the handle with a knot
  • Have someone drop from a height and observe the playdough “astronaut” from the ground.

What’s the science: 

The playdough appears to be floating above the cup as it falls. Falling objects may feel like they are experiencing zero gravity – similar to when we head downhill on a roller coaster – but that feeling is just the air surrounding us pressing against us as we fall. Similar to the playdough in the demonstration, astronauts who appear to be floating in outer space, are actually being pulled by Earth’s gravity or the gravity from the nearest moon or planet. 

So my engineering friend was right! Astronauts are not actually floating but freefalling…(que Tom Petty 🎵😎)

This has been one of the many space experiments we have been exploring since the excitement around the landing of the Mars Perseverance rover. It’s also been great research for the next book in the Halley Harper: Science Girl Extraordinaire series that will publish in 2021!

For more Astronomy experiments like this, check out Janice VanCleave’s book Astronomy for Every Kid. (We love using her books as a source of science inspiration!) 

And… you’re welcome… now that song is stuck in your head too.. 🎵 Now I’m free… free fallin’ 🎵😉