An official FIFA World Cup ball has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), offering the crew members not only a chance to have fun and relax after their tiring work maintaining the ISS, but also a crucial opportunity to conduct several experiments in a microgravity environment.
In particular, their discoveries could profoundly impact the performance of footballs in crucial matches under the international spotlight, such as future World Cups.
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| FIFA World Cup balls have been sent to the ISS to study how their internal mass affects their movement and stability in a microgravity environment. Photo: USA Today |
The ISS has been in low Earth orbit for over 25 years, typically at an altitude of around 260 miles, and is considered home to astronauts from around the world. Throughout its operational history, the ISS has served as a testing ground for scientific research in a weightless environment, and over the years has opened its doors to private commercial missions. This orbiting laboratory is operated through a global collaboration of space agencies, including the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Space Agency Canada.
NASA says that more than 290 astronauts from 26 countries around the world have visited the ISS, including 170 from the United States.
Notably, astronauts on the ISS recently had the opportunity to kick an official FIFA World Cup ball in a zero-gravity environment. A short video shared by NASA on social media shows four crew members playing with the ball as it floats slowly inside the ISS. A NASA spokesperson said the ball was delivered to the International Space Station last September as part of a resupply mission carried out by the aerospace and defense contractor Northrop Grumman in Virginia, USA.
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NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Jonny Kim practice using a robotic arm inside the Destiny Lab on the ISS. Photo: NASA |
NASA astronauts study how a ball spins and moves in a microgravity environment, but not just for fun. The World Cup ball was sent to the ISS for crucial experiments in a microgravity environment, which could help us understand more about the aerodynamics and physics involved in a powerful shot. In a press release, NASA emphasized that this knowledge could help further improve the ball's performance in matches played on Earth.
Since 2022, Adidas has integrated electronic devices into the official match balls used in major tournaments, capable of tracking factors such as speed, position, and contact in real time. While this technology assists referees and improves the quality of live broadcasts, the sensors can also cause uneven mass distribution and hinder the ball's movement in the air.
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| NASA astronauts pose for a photo inside the docking system between the ISS and SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Photo: NASA |
Long before this, people had been studying the conditions that alter the balance of a ball, including a 2014 study at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.
So why rely on astronauts to study how factors, such as integrated sensors, might affect the spin and stability of a ball? As NASA astronaut Jessica Meir explained in an educational video, in a weightless environment, we can observe the ball's "behavior" in ways that are unobservable on Earth.
Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/the-thao/worldcup-2026/con-sot-world-cup-da-lan-ra-ngoai-khong-gian-1046119
