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Space Entertainment

The Future of Space Sports 254

Posted by Soulskill from the enemy's-gate-is-down dept.
Loether writes "Space.com has a fun article about how astronauts aboard the ISS play 'sports' in zero gravity. It talks about learning how to throw in a straight line instead of the arc we all take for granted, relay races, and using large water filled bags as medicine balls. 'We realized that you could toss and catch and then go for a ride on this big thing as it takes you away.' The astronauts also put out a request for new ideas for space sports. Have any suggestions?"
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The Future of Space Sports More

The Future of Space Sports

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  • a system for it to make it's own gravity and transporters

  • Remember (Score:4, Funny)

    by glwtta ( 532858 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @12:58PM (#23200414) Homepage
    The enemy gate is down!

  • ....mechanics of such:

    How about the horizontal mambo?

  • ...until the medicine ball full of water bursts open.

    I for one welcome our new water overlords.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by snowraver1 ( 1052510 )
      I was thinking the same thing. I, personally, would not be playing with a water balloon near my life support system... But, that's just me.
    • I think that scenario is what will limit most "space sports" on the international space station. Until they have a large, empty compartment which can get wet and have particulate matter floating in it without problem, most "space games" will be tame, low-energy events.

      And with the price per cubic foot of the ISS, I'm guessing that nobody is planning to send up an empty room for the astronauts to mess around in. Something like a combo of racquetball and air-hockey might be a ton of fun. Have a goal to defe

      • And with the price per cubic foot of the ISS, I'm guessing that nobody is planning to send up an empty room for the astronauts to mess around in.
        I'm sure we can find some way to justify it... "astronauts need exercise" or something.
    • I don't like playing with an ugly ball of mostly water.

  • Run around the tanks? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Pig Hogger ( 10379 ) <pig DOT hogger AT gmail DOT com> on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:02PM (#23200470) Journal
    Jogging around the water tanks [youtube.com] à la Skylab maybe?

  • Play A Man's Game (Score:3, Funny)

    by BigBlueOx ( 1201587 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:04PM (#23200488)
    Fizzbin.
    Maybe you'll be one of the few who have ever gotten a Royal Fizzbin. BTW, the odds of actually getting a Royal Fizzbin have never been computed but are known to be astronomical.

  • Zero G Arena needed, but... (Score:3, Funny)

    by GrueMaster ( 579195 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:04PM (#23200490)
    While the ISS may not be the best for this, how about zero G paintball? That would kick ass. ISS is relatively confined to have much in the way of sports. Zero G Racketball could get interesting, but again, need more space.
  • Nerf guns would be fun..

    Lawn Darts are probably out..
    • Darts with out gravity but air would be really interesting actually. Without the arc hand control would be even more important.

      Moon Golf would be awesome. I wish paintball would be there. Think of the ranges you could get.

      We need a giant dome on the Moon just to play these games. Fund future missions by sending tourists to the moon for sports.
  • games, I'm going to have to suggest "zerogfindthesausage" as a good one to play.

  • Hmmm.... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Angst Badger ( 8636 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:07PM (#23200546)
    The astronauts also put out a request for new ideas for space sports. Have any suggestions?

    You mean other than the obvious one we all wonder about?

  • basketball (Score:4, Funny)

    by OrochimaruVoldemort ( 1248060 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:07PM (#23200548) Journal
    in zero g, the white guy could finally compete with the black guy (flaimbait, i'm sure)

    • Re:basketball (Score:5, Insightful)

      by iamhigh ( 1252742 ) * on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:18PM (#23200742)
      Why would that be flamebait? It is merely a statement of facts. Blacks make up 12-15 percent of the population, but 90+ percent of professional athelets.

      It pisses me off to no end that we can't conlude that one race may be better at things than another (due to P.C.).

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Sciros ( 986030 )

        professional athletes

        Depends on the sport. Hockey is predominately white, though that's largely due to regional culture (that goes for "winter sports" in general, I guess). Soccer seems to not favor the athletic tendencies of any particular race. Tiger Woods is like 100 races in one so golf's a wash. In Baseball, American Football, and Basketball there are many black athletes but it's not necessarily because of their physical advantages. Certainly the greater muscle mass, height, and high vertical jump mean a lot, especially f

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Orange Crush ( 934731 )

        Correlation != Causation. I don't know where you're numbers come from, but the 12-15 percent of the general population figure agrees with a quick bit of Googling. Determining the demographics amongst all professional athletes is much more difficult. Are you looking at primarilly basketball and football? What about baseball, soccer, hockey, swimming, golf, equestrian sports, etc?

        We can spout off and conjecture all we like about why blacks might dominate certain professional sports--maybe it's a mix of

        • Re:basketball (Score:5, Interesting)

          by bennomatic ( 691188 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @02:44PM (#23201918) Homepage
          You're totally right on. There was a time that a significant portion of pro basketball players were Jewish, too. Was it because of cultural or economic reasons? No, of course not. Sports pundits of the time indicated that shorter men would be better at basketball because they would have greater balance and agility... A quick Google search on "jews in basketball" reveals that and other interesting statements.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by Gman14msu ( 993012 )

        Blacks make up 12-15 percent of the population, but 90+ percent of professional athelets.

        Wait really? What a ridiculously misguided statement! Seriously, who is modding this up? Let`s take a quick look to see how inaccurate you are.

        First off, let`s decide what sports to look at. I`ll go with the basketball and the NBA, MLB for baseball, and the NFL for football. I won't even count NHL hockey, and leave one of the biggest sports in the country NASCAR, off the board for a few reasons, A) I think you weren`t considering drivers athletes at all when making that claim, and B) them being te

        • I think we can excuse the original poster for a bit of hyperbole. The interesting question still remains: blacks are disproportionally represented in basketball and football, two sports where "athletic ability" is priced at a premium. Why is that?

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Sciros ( 986030 )
            Um, that they're American sports?

            There could be many reasons, anyway. In the US, sports are one of the proven ways to get scholarship money for college, and given that a lot of blacks live in poorer areas (so, worse schools) sports are easier to excel in than academics. Don't take my word for it but it makes sense to me.

            After all, "athletic ability" is important in more than just basketball and American football. It helps in soccer, nearly all "winter sports," rowing, etc. So I can't agree that blacks are a
      • Let me guess: are you white, maybe anglo-saxon and protestant, too? I hate to make generalizations, as that would be politically incorrect, but that's the only group I know that gets pissed off at so-called political correctness.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Belial6 ( 794905 )
        It is flamebait for the same reason that it would be flame bait to say that blacks are predisposed to crime because they make up a larger percentage of the prison population. While it would be stupid to think that different races were separated long enough for evolution to make a difference in skin color and even height, but we could not have evolved different reaction times, hand eye coordination, muscle mass, and brain functionality.

        It is pretty dumb to think that our cultural environment is not influ

      • Blacks make up 12-15 percent of the population, but 90+ percent of professional athelets.
        Are the other other 10% swimmers?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by doti ( 966971 )
      How can basketball work without gravity? It plays a key role in the play.

  • Flying (Score:4, Interesting)

    by David Frankenstein ( 21337 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:07PM (#23200550)
    I read it somewhere one time. Give me some wings and Zero-G, and I can use them to 'swim' if I can push enough air around. Would be even more fun with Small-G.
  • "What about Zero-G kickboxing? Or Wimbledon?"

  • new olympic sport (Score:2, Interesting)

    by purpleque ( 948533 )
    speedfloating...neither foot can touch the ground during the entire race.
    • Seems like you could gain the same results by testing a person's vertical. All the force one can muster in any direction can be measured with ones weight, and the average height of the jump (IE, lifting your feet and bending your knees for extra height won't work).

      On the other hand.. if you are talking about some sort of zero (or low) G race down a corridor without the use of your legs (pulling and pushing with hands, head, whatever isn't below the waist) it could be quite interesting. If you take into co

  • Calvin Ball (Score:5, Funny)

    by LordSkippy ( 140884 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:11PM (#23200632)
    Calvin Ball!

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by esocid ( 946821 )
      You used an exclamatory sentence in the no punctuation zone, you have to hop on one foot while I peg you with this waterballon. Now, hold still dammit. Hey, where's your mask?

  • In 2006, European astronaut Christer Fugelsang, a former Swedish national Frisbee champion, kept a Frisbee aloft inside the station for 20 seconds - thanks to the lack of gravity - to break the previous world record of 16.72 seconds for a single toss.
    Isn't the whole station aloft? I'm confused.

  • Flying. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by geekoid ( 135745 ) <{moc.oohay} {ta} {dnaltropnidad}> on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:13PM (#23200664) Homepage Journal
    Don't confuse Activity, competitions and sports. Sorry, I needed to gt that off my chest.

    Any ways..
    Gymnastics would be very interesting, as would wrestling.

    I suspect someone would create 'wings' that strap onto your arms to help you 'swim' around. That could be an interesting race.
  • tug of war ?
  • Well, I think archery and skeet shooting are right out. I'd like to see a zero-G baseball game.

  • Two man juggling (Score:4, Interesting)

    by myxiplx ( 906307 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:17PM (#23200722)
    Well you can't very well juggle on your own in space, and I doubt Nasa would appreciate you bouncing balls off all the equipment, but you could probably learn to juggle 5 balls between two people.

    Of course the trick is to work out a path where the balls won't collide, and to learn the direction to throw them in, but it'd make for a great publicity video if they worked it out :D
  • I imagine it'd be pretty cool to play Hide and Seek in a 3D environment, although the hiding space options would be rather limited.

    How about setting up a CAVE-like environment for some really VR Descent [mobygames.com]?

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Clovis42 ( 1229086 )

      I imagine it'd be pretty cool to play Hide and Seek in a 3D environment

      Er, like outside in meatspace, maybe?? I'd like to play a 1D game of Hide and Seek.... Or a proper 4D hide and seek... I know he's around here somewhere... but WHEN??

      I suppose you mean it is 3D since you can float off the ground, but you can climb up stuff in regular gravity hide and seek too.
  • Only, instead of a line of folks, you have a 2D mesh. And instead of running at the opposing team, your teammates hurl you at them.
  • It's a no-brainer ... I mean ... ZERO GRAVITY !!!
  • I want to see a large cylinder ( 100+ m diameter ) with enough spin to have about 1/4 G, and lots of water. There could be waves going both directions, and a few underwater obstacles to provide breaks.

  • Flatulence races? (Score:4, Funny)

    by bonkeydcow ( 1186443 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @01:23PM (#23200808)
    Flatulence races? Do you have enough fuel to make it across the finish line?

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by $RANDOMLUSER ( 804576 )
      Fartracing FTW!! BRILLIANT!!! Kudos good sir.

      Sadly, without gravity, the gas in your gut doesn't separate out, so, (wait for it) "in space, nobody can hear you fart".

      Thanks, try the veal.
      • I find it hard to believe that people do not fat in space. Flatulence comes from a build up of gasses in the intestines, not the stomach. Things are moved through the intestines by muscle contraction, not gravity, so it seems unlikely that it would function differently in null-G.

        Of course, a few words from anyone whose actually been to space would clear this up quickly. Are you listening, NASA? Inquiring minds wish to know!
  • ... a good game of 'hide the capsule'?
  • Wouldn't there need to be space sports *now* before we start talking about the future of space sports? No? Never mind.

    QD's requirements for entertaining space sports:

    [1] Rotating playfield (for Coriolis effects)
    [2] Weapons
    [3] Sexy female players in tight cat suits
    [4] Sexy female referees in BDSM gear (with whips and paddles for meting out penalties)
    [5] Full contact rules
    [6] The ball? A human head!

  • May the schwartz be with you.
  • They could play some sort of World of Warcraft...in space :P and call it World of Starcraft! But seriously, space ping pong would kick ass cuz it'd be like pong instead.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )
      well you would have a table on each sides and across the top. So your bouncing the ball through a cube.
  • ...horse racing?
  • Extreme sports would include skinny dipping and blowing up a balloon.
  • LASER CATS!

    Tiddly Winks ;)

    Darts
  • But if you had something like an enormous padded sportshall in zero G, one party could throw something, while the other had to catch it. That is, thrust yourself forward with an accurate enough vector to intercept it. And if you fail, you just keep bouncing. Of course, if you don't fail, you keep bouncing as well, but there'd be things to hold on to on the sides of it. Or something.
  • Hey, if someone can figure out how to slow down a curling stone, or similar object without getting knocked about or crunched, it's on!

    Shuffleboard, darts, bumper pool...

  • Throwing in a straight line, and other tricks (Score:3, Interesting)

    by RabidMonkey ( 30447 ) <canadaboy.gmail@com> on Friday April 25, 2008 @03:10PM (#23202272) Homepage
    It's amazing how, even as a wee child, we learn to account for gravity in everything we do. (I know that it's an obvious statement, but ponder it). We learn to throw in arcs, we learn how things bounce, based on their elasticity or density, we learn how to throw higher/lighter, lower/harder to do different arcs, we learn how to throw things that are light vs heavy ...

    then, to have to relearn that in space. It would be an interesting study in learning and adapting to see how people learn this, then, when they return back to Gravity, how they re-adjust.

  • They could play "spit in my mouth" from pretty far away. Or throw food in each other's mouth instead. Or "who pees the farthest". Or Tug O' War. Or paper plane throwing-based games (still works without gravity, but instead of falling down it just stops, which could make up for interesting plane interception games). Or throw arrows on a floating, and eventually spinning, target. Or a "blow race" : make some origami thing (or better yet blow a soap bubble), let it float still on the start "line" and blow on i

  • Ultimate (Frisbee) (Score:3, Interesting)

    by HeyBob! ( 111243 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @03:17PM (#23202368)
    I'm surprised no one's brought up Ultimate (Frisbee)
    A spinning disc has lift so th throw it to some one, you'd throw it down and it would rise to them!

    • Re:Ultimate (Frisbee) (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Chris Mattern ( 191822 ) on Friday April 25, 2008 @03:55PM (#23202770)

      A spinning disc has lift


      No, it doesn't. A frisbee gets no lift from the fact that it is spinning.

      Because of its shape (it's an airfoil) it does get lift from moving forward, however. It gets *stability* from the spin, which helps maintiain the the edge-on direction of movement that gives it lift.
  • Lance Armstrong, Sit Down: Dr. Sally Ride, the first female US astronaut in space, rode a bicycle across the Atlantic ocean. She did so in 15 minutes. This was done in 1983, aboard STS-7 on a stationary bike, as part of an experiment on exercise in zero g intended to reduce the problem of bone calcium loss during long missions. It stretches at least a couple definitions to the breaking point, but it's great to be able to say "rode a bicycle across the Atlantic ocean in 15 minutes". A free flight variant of
  • They've never shown heroines throwing men around, but it would be one of the great moments in space.

  • You can't touch the "Puck", and you're given a little hooked 2ft stick and have to slap it through a hoop.

    Also see basket racquetball.
  • ...is an excellent sport no matter the local spacetime curvature.

    -=rsw

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