Astronaut Shows Off Low-Gravity Demonstration with Soccer Balls
She showed how mass imbalance creates wobble while carefully placed weights produce a smoother spin, NASA said.
- Astronaut Jessica Meir demonstrates soccer ball physics aboard the International Space Station, illustrating how design quality affects performance in microgravity.
- In 2019, International Space Station researchers studied soccer ball motion, stability, and rotation to understand how embedded match-ball sensors influence competitive play.
- Meir compares a wobbling ball with mass imbalance to a strategically engineered version that passes "Balance-mass distribution" tests, showing smoother rotation.
- According to a NASA news release, research findings improved development of soccer balls for major international tournaments, including FIFA World Cup competition.
- The demonstration is part of NASA's "STEMonstrations" series, which showcases how sports engineering principles apply in space environments for educational purposes.
23 Articles
23 Articles
NASA Explores Intersection of Soccer and Space Science
NASA’s Microgravity Soccer Ball Experiment Enhances Understanding of Sports Technology NASA has successfully conducted a unique experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) involving soccer balls to explore how internal mass affects motion and stability in microgravity. This research, carried out on March 2, 2026, aims to improve the performance of match-ball sensors used in […]
Soccer Meets Space Science
NASA A soccer ball floats in microgravity in this March 2, 2026, picture from the International Space Station. The space station crew tested soccer balls to study how internal mass affects motion and stability in microgravity. The findings have improved understanding of how embedded technologies, including match-ball sensors, can influence performance during play. Through research aboard the International Space Station and technology developed f…
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