Book 1, Question 83
Why Do Astronauts Float? They're Falling Around Earth!
Astronauts float, but there is still gravity in space! The page explains that it is gravity that keeps the space station in orbit. The station moves forward so fast that as it falls it keeps missing Earth, so the astronauts are falling around Earth. Everything inside, including the station, tools and snacks, falls at the same rate, so with no ground pushing back they float together. The page calls this free fall. Think about a falling elevator as a thought experiment, and never try it in a real one!
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 1
More fun facts
- In space, astronauts do not walk on the floor. They float around inside their spacecraft.
- When things seem weightless, it is called microgravity.
- In microgravity, astronauts can move objects that weigh hundreds of pounds with just their fingertips.
- Gravity is still at work in space. It keeps the Moon in orbit around Earth.
- In 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless floated free outside the Space Shuttle Challenger with no tether, steering with a jetpack that fired nitrogen gas.
- That jetpack, the manned maneuvering unit, was built because astronauts found safety tethers restrictive.
Sources: NASA, NASA Science
Questions kids ask
Is there gravity on the space station?
Yes. Gravity is still there. Astronauts float because they and the station are falling around Earth together.
What is microgravity?
It is when things seem almost weightless, like inside a spacecraft in orbit.