One of the biggest problems of spending prolonged periods of time in Space is the deterioration of muscle mass. In fact, the exact same thing also happens on Earth for anyone who is unfortunate enough to be confined to lying in a bed for a long time. Muscles that are not used and that have no forces exerted on them diminish and become weakened. Living in a microgravity environment, such as is found on the International Space Station, means that it takes practically no effort at all to do anything because everything weighs virtually nothing – including you!
The slightest touch on anything will generate a movement in the opposite direction – thus, even a single strand of hair is enough to send an astronaut flying backwards in space, as recently demonstrated by NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg. The idea was inspired by a conversation between fellow astronaut Cady Coleman and actress Sandra Bullock when talking about the space film ‘Gravity’.
‘One of the things she told her about was how little effort it took to move around in microgravity,’ said Nyberg, who has been at the ISS since May of this year.
‘She even told her that you could take a human hair and use it stretched out to push against a wall or a handrail – and it really takes that little effort.’
‘Since I have the resources, I thought I would give it a try,’ added Nyberg in a video posted by Nasa.
After plucking one hair, she pressed it against an ISS handrail and fell backwards in slow motion.
Take a look at the video to see what little effort is really needed.
The slightest touch on anything will generate a movement in the opposite direction – thus, even a single strand of hair is enough to send an astronaut flying backwards in space, as recently demonstrated by NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg. The idea was inspired by a conversation between fellow astronaut Cady Coleman and actress Sandra Bullock when talking about the space film ‘Gravity’.
‘One of the things she told her about was how little effort it took to move around in microgravity,’ said Nyberg, who has been at the ISS since May of this year.
‘She even told her that you could take a human hair and use it stretched out to push against a wall or a handrail – and it really takes that little effort.’
‘Since I have the resources, I thought I would give it a try,’ added Nyberg in a video posted by Nasa.
After plucking one hair, she pressed it against an ISS handrail and fell backwards in slow motion.
Take a look at the video to see what little effort is really needed.
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