Being an astronaut may sound glamorous, but for the most part, life in space is utter tedium—checking systems logs, labeling test tubes for routine science experiments. Not to mention the fact that simple things like using the toilet and running on a treadmill require monk-like patience and bungee cords.
Every now and then, however, astronauts do get to kick back and have fun. As these GIFs released today by NASA show us, even highly trained space professionals still occasionally experience the childlike wonder I’m sure we’d all feel if thrown into a weightless environment. And it’s a very good thing that these men and women can find ways to entertain themselves; if they couldn’t, we’d probably have a space mutiny on our hands.
Here are just a few of the fun things you can do in zero-gee:
Flying!
You develop some serious acrobatic skills trying to amble about the space station. Here’s Tom Marshburn ninja-tumbling his way around Kibo, Japan’s experimental module on the ISS.
Eating and Drinking
As if we needed more proof that we’re living in the Matrix.
Hey, the coffee may taste like butt, and you may have lost your sense of taste anyway thanks to the re-distribution of fluids inside your skull
Sportsballs!
This is probably the closest thing to Quidditch we Muggles can ever hope to achieve.
[NASA]
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