The International Space Station (ISS) looks like a really fun place, as the astronauts there engage in zero-gravity Olympic sports.
The Tokyo Olympics are over, with the closing ceremony taking place today Sunday. But before we say goodbye to one of the most unusual Olympic Games that will be remembered because of the coronavirus, the astronauts on the International Space Station have some last minute entries for the judges to examine.
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet (Thomas Pesquet), from the European Space Agency, published in Twitter μια σειρά τεσσάρων βίντεο που δείχνουν μερικούς αστροναύτες του ISS να εκτελούν ασκήσεις σε μηδενική βαρύτητα, που τις ονόμασαν ρουτίνες, και που ίσως να ήταν και καλές προσθήκες στους μελλοντικούς Ολυμπιακούς Αγώνες. Κρέμασαν ακόμη και μικρές σημαίες όλων των χωρών που εκπροσωπούνταν. Τα βίντεο είναι αρκετά ανθεκτικά και δείτε με τον ήχο ανοιχτό, καθώς η music background is quite tied to the spectacle.
We start with instrumental gymnastics and a "Lack of floor routine". We can not understand the rules here (does it touch anything or does it touch everything?), But everyone gets points for style:
Space #Olympics 1 / 4:
Lack-of-floor routine - much 👏 to Pyotr for completing his routine without touching anything, a difficult feat!
🥇
Gym hors-sol – on ne dirait pas comme ça, more les immobilisations en plein vol de Piotr requièrent a great experience#MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/gXAHSHHmcu- Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 6
Here is the "no handball", also known as space hockey, which seems much, much more difficult at zero gravity:
Space #Olympics 2 / 4:
No-handball - we had to adapt the rules a bit during the match, much investment on both sides for the win.
(I.e.
Handball sans les mains – the rules must be adapted during a match that we describe soberly as intense. pic.twitter.com/dVOv3GRThD- Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 6
We continue with "synchronized swimming in space". There is teamwork here and the team clearly worked on these routines, despite the lack of water that the land-based version of the sport requires:
Space #Olympics 3 / 4:
Synchronized space swimming – an opportunity to show teamwork and crew cohesion.
🤝
Synchronized flotation – the occasion to demonstrate one of the most important skills of an astronaut: team spirit #MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/Ljo65AkzNQ- Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 6
Finally, we have shooting, where they shoot something that looks like a rubber band at an improvised target:
Space #Olympics 4 / 4:
Weightless sharpshooting – concentration and skill (or luck)
🎯
Tir sans gravité – concentration and persévérance on dicté cette épreuve pour bien negocier la trajectoire des élastiques#MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/eV2cSxEWQ5- Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 6
And of course we have a closing ceremony, with Aki Hoshide of JAXA (Japan's space agency) handing over an Olympic flag to the perfectly suited Frenchman Pesquet movement, since the 2024 Olympic Games will be held in Paris.
https://twitter.com/Thom_astro/status/1424278282300702720
Congratulations to all those who won a medal at the real Olympics, but we think that seeing astronauts spin synchronously with each other and chase a small ball in space will attract a huge audience to future games.
