"The Enemy's Gate is Down......"
Apr. 25th, 2008 04:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
patgundThe Future of Space Sports
"Space station astronauts are scheduled to work an average of about 6 1/2 hours each day, with about two hours set aside for exercise and about 8 1/2 reserved for sleep. But astronauts, like the rest of us, will squeeze in some fun during their off-hours.
"They're going to be creative, they're going to play with things," said Walter Sipes, a NASA psychologist specializing in long-duration spaceflight support at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. "These might be lower priority activities, but they're higher on keeping the morale up."
While they don't have a sports locker, station astronauts do have some gear at their disposal, Sipes told SPACE.com.
In addition to their space treadmill and stationary bike, they've played weightless basketball, Frisbee and tossed boomerangs, to name a few. But the rules change in the absence of gravity.
"It definitely takes skill to be able to throw objects in space," said Whitson, adding it has to be developed just like the ability to move in weightless. "Overcoming an opponent requires some skill. I think there'll be a lot of new games that they come up with."
"Space station astronauts are scheduled to work an average of about 6 1/2 hours each day, with about two hours set aside for exercise and about 8 1/2 reserved for sleep. But astronauts, like the rest of us, will squeeze in some fun during their off-hours.
"They're going to be creative, they're going to play with things," said Walter Sipes, a NASA psychologist specializing in long-duration spaceflight support at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. "These might be lower priority activities, but they're higher on keeping the morale up."
While they don't have a sports locker, station astronauts do have some gear at their disposal, Sipes told SPACE.com.
In addition to their space treadmill and stationary bike, they've played weightless basketball, Frisbee and tossed boomerangs, to name a few. But the rules change in the absence of gravity.
"It definitely takes skill to be able to throw objects in space," said Whitson, adding it has to be developed just like the ability to move in weightless. "Overcoming an opponent requires some skill. I think there'll be a lot of new games that they come up with."
