The Unlikely History of Sports in Space

The Orbital Playground

Life aboard the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting 250 miles above Earth, is a carefully orchestrated ballet of scientific research, meticulous maintenance, and international cooperation. Yet, within this high-stakes environment, a fundamental human need persists: the need for play. For astronauts on long-duration missions that can stretch for six months or more, recreation is not a trivial diversion. It has become an essential component of life in orbit, a recognized tool for maintaining psychological well-being, fostering team cohesion, and preserving morale in the isolated confines of space.

The role of play in space has undergone a significant transformation over the decades. What began as spontaneous, personal acts of whimsy has evolved into organized, agency-endorsed events. This progression reflects a maturing understanding of the human factors involved in extended spaceflight. Early on, moments of recreation were often novel experiments in themselves, born from the curiosity of individual astronauts. With the advent of permanent human habitation on the ISS, these activities became more commonplace, a way to fill rare moments of downtime and strengthen bonds between multinational crewmates.

More recently, these informal pastimes have given way to structured events, filmed and shared with a global audience. The first badminton and tennis matches played in orbit were celebrated as milestones, demonstrating a new level of normalcy in space living. This trend reached its zenith with the 2024 “ISS Olympics,” a multi-event spectacle that was not just tolerated but actively promoted by space agencies. This journey shows that as humanity pushes the boundaries of exploration, we carry with us not only our science and technology but also our enduring impulse for games and sport, adapting them with remarkable ingenuity to the most unique playing field imaginable.

The Science of Play in a Weightless World

To appreciate the spectacle of sports in space, one must first understand the unique physical environment in which they are played. The floating astronauts and effortlessly drifting objects aboard the ISS create a visual that is often mislabeled as “zero gravity.” The reality is far more dynamic and is governed by the same physical laws that operate on Earth, though their effects manifest in profoundly different ways.

Understanding Free Fall: The Illusion of Zero Gravity

The International Space Station is not beyond the reach of Earth’s gravity. In fact, at its orbital altitude, the gravitational pull is about 90% as strong as it is on the planet’s surface. An astronaut who weighs 100 pounds on Earth would still weigh about 90 pounds if they could stand on a scale at that altitude. The reason they float is not due to a lack of gravity, but because they are in a constant state of free fall.

Imagine being in an elevator car at the top of a skyscraper when the cable snaps. As the car plummets, you and everything else inside it would fall at the same rate. If you were to let go of a ball, it would appear to hover in front of you, weightless relative to your position, because you are both accelerating downward together. This is precisely what happens on the ISS. The station, its crew, and all its contents are continuously falling toward Earth. However, the station is also traveling horizontally at an incredible speed of about 17,500 miles per hour.

This immense forward velocity means that as the station falls, the Earth’s surface curves away beneath it at the same rate. It is perpetually falling around the planet, never getting any closer to the ground. This state of continuous free fall is what creates the condition known as microgravity.

The Rules of Motion, Rewritten

This environment dramatically alters the way familiar objects behave, making sports a live demonstration of fundamental physics. Sir Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion, which can seem abstract on Earth, become vividly and intuitively apparent in orbit.

Newton’s First Law, the law of inertia, states that an object in motion will stay in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force. On Earth, gravity and air resistance are constant external forces that quickly alter an object’s path. A thrown ball arcs toward the ground. In space, this is not the case. When an astronaut hits a tennis ball, it travels in a perfectly straight line across the module until it collides with a wall or another racket. There is no arc, no bounce. This makes predicting an object’s trajectory a completely different mental exercise.

Newton’s Second Law connects force, mass, and acceleration (F=ma). In microgravity, the mass of an object becomes its most dominant property. While an object has no weight, it retains its mass, or inertia. This is why astronauts can move modules weighing hundreds of pounds with their fingertips—it takes very little force to get a massive object moving. Conversely, it also takes force to stop it. The law also explains why a small force applied to a low-mass object, like a tube of chapstick, will send it flying much faster than the same force applied to a more massive object, like a toolkit.

Newton’s Third Law, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, is perhaps the most consequential for orbital athletics. On Earth, we are anchored by gravity and friction, so we rarely notice the “opposite reaction.” In space, it’s unavoidable. If an astronaut pushes off a wall, the wall pushes back with equal force, sending them flying across the cabin. This principle makes many sports challenging. Attempting to kick a soccer ball with any power is difficult because without a stable surface to push against, the act of kicking the ball forward simultaneously pushes the astronaut backward. The game becomes a delicate balance of controlled movements to avoid sending oneself spinning uncontrollably.

Historic Firsts: The Dawn of Extraterrestrial Sports

Before the ISS provided a permanent, shirt-sleeve environment for recreation, the first forays into off-world athletics took place on a far more hostile and desolate playing field: the Moon. These initial acts were not part of any official mission plan but were born from the personal initiative and playful spirit of the Apollo astronauts.

Golf on the Moon: Shepard’s Legendary Swing

The first person to play a sport in space was Apollo 14 Commander Alan Shepard. In February 1971, at the conclusion of his final moonwalk, he unveiled a surprise that he had smuggled aboard the spacecraft. The mission was already fraught with tension, being the first to fly after the near-disaster of Apollo 13, and Shepard’s plan was a well-kept secret. Inspired by a lighthearted conversation with comedian Bob Hope, who was famous for carrying a golf club, Shepard decided a “moon shot” would be a perfect way to demonstrate the Moon’s low gravity, which is one-sixth that of Earth’s.

His equipment was a study in astronaut ingenuity. He had brought a genuine Wilson 6-iron club head, which he attached to the handle of a lunar sample collection tool. Encumbered by his stiff, life-sustaining spacesuit, he was unable to grip the club with both hands or make a proper swing. His first two attempts, made with a clumsy, one-handed motion, mostly kicked up gray lunar dust. Undeterred, he made contact on his third swing, sending the ball flying. His fourth and final shot was even better, prompting his famous, jubilant exclamation that the ball traveled for “miles and miles and miles.” Later analysis of the mission footage revealed the second successful shot likely traveled a more modest, yet still impressive, 40 yards.

The First Lunar Javelin

Shepard’s historic golf shot was not the only athletic feat performed that day. Inspired by his commander’s playful demonstration, Apollo 14’s Lunar Module Pilot, Edgar Mitchell, decided to get in on the action. In an impromptu moment, he took the handle of another scientific tool and threw it like a javelin. The makeshift spear sailed through the airless environment and landed neatly in a nearby crater. Together, these two events led Mitchell to humorously declare the start of the “First Lunar Olympics,” a fitting title for the dawn of extraterrestrial sports.

The ISS Arena: Adapting Terrestrial Games for Orbit

The establishment of the International Space Station as a permanent home in orbit opened up new possibilities for recreation. Inside its interconnected modules, astronauts from around the world have found creative ways to adapt familiar games, turning the station into a unique athletic arena. The ingenuity required to modify these sports for microgravity showcases the same problem-solving skills essential for space exploration itself.

Racket Sports in Orbit

The enclosed, room-like modules of the ISS are surprisingly well-suited for modified racket sports, which have become a favorite pastime for international crews seeking both exercise and friendly competition.

Zero-G Badminton

The first-ever badminton match in space took place in 2018 and was a truly international affair, with Russian cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Anton Shkaplerov facing off against American astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai. The game required a completely new set of rules. With no gravity to pull the shuttlecock down, a physical net was unnecessary. Players had to orient themselves by holding onto handrails to keep from floating away while trying to hit the shuttlecock. A point was scored simply when an opponent either missed their shot or hit the shuttlecock into one of the module’s walls. The match was played not for points but for camaraderie, and the crew declared that the official winner was “friendship.” The event was so successful that it was repeated in 2021 when a Japanese billionaire and his assistant visited the station, playing a match with a European Space Agency astronaut.

The ISS Tennis Open

Later in 2018, another “first” occurred when four astronauts held a doubles tennis match aboard the station. The event, dubbed the “2018 ISS Tennis Open,” featured NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold, among others. Their equipment was adapted for the environment: they used small, station-safe rackets and fashioned a makeshift net out of cargo tie-downs stretched across a module. The game was a perfect illustration of orbital physics. Without gravity, the ball didn’t bounce but traveled in a perfectly straight line after being struck. This transformed the game into a unique challenge where players had to predict linear trajectories while simultaneously struggling to keep their own bodies from floating out of position.

The Great American and Global Pastimes

Team sports, which rely heavily on running and ground-based stability, required even more creative adaptations to be played in a weightless environment.

Spaceball

In 2011, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, who had played baseball in high school, pioneered a new version of the sport he called “spaceball.” He ingeniously transformed the nine-player team game into a solo performance perfectly suited for microgravity. In a remarkable display of coordination, Furukawa would act as pitcher, batter, and fielder all at once. He would first pitch the ball, then use the weightless environment to gracefully float across the module to swing the bat at his own pitch. After making contact, he would float again to catch the ball, completing the out.

Cosmic Soccer

To celebrate the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Earth, a multinational crew of American and German astronauts held a “celestial kickabout” inside the station. The game, typically modified for two or three players, highlighted one of the key challenges of athletics in space: generating force. Without a solid ground to plant their feet, the astronauts found it nearly impossible to kick the ball hard. Any forceful kick would send the player spinning or flying backward, a textbook demonstration of Newton’s third law of action and reaction. The game required gentle, controlled taps rather than powerful strikes.

Games of the Mind: Strategy in Zero Gravity

Not all space sports are physical. Games of strategy have been a part of crewed spaceflight since its earliest days, providing mental stimulation and a quiet way to unwind.

Velcro Chess

The very first strategic game was played long before the ISS existed, during the 1970 Soyuz 9 mission. Cosmonauts Andriyan Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov played a six-hour game of chess against a team at Mission Control on Earth. To make this possible, they used a specially designed chess set where both the board and the pieces were fitted with Velcro. This simple but brilliant adaptation prevented the pieces from floating away and becoming a potential hazard to the spacecraft’s delicate systems. This same principle has since been applied to other board games, like Scrabble, where every letter tile must be secured to the board, and it remains a staple for quiet recreation on the station.

The 2024 ISS Olympics: A Celebration of Orbital Athletics

In July 2024, as the world’s attention turned to the Summer Olympics in Paris, the crew of the International Space Station held their own tribute to the games. This event was more than just a casual pastime; it was an organized, multi-event spectacle that represented the culmination of decades of evolving recreation in space. It was a celebration of orbital athletics, shared with the world as a symbol of the connection between exploration on Earth and in the cosmos.

The Opening Ceremony

The ISS “Olympics” began with a ceremony that was uniquely suited to its environment. The six participating NASA astronauts—Matthew Dominick, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Jeanette Epps, Tracy Dyson, and Mike Barratt—conducted a mock Olympic torch relay. A makeshift torch, crafted from materials available on the station, was passed from one crew member to the next as they floated through the station’s modules. The relay concluded with a poignant moment as the final torchbearer held it aloft in the Cupola, the station’s seven-windowed dome, with the blue and white marble of Earth visible in the background. The warm-up session that followed included a standout moment where Butch Wilmore demonstrated orbital hydration by deftly capturing and sipping a floating globule of water.

Feats of Strength and Agility

The crew competed in a series of events that creatively spoofed their terrestrial counterparts, taking full advantage of the weightless environment to perform seemingly impossible feats.

• No-Gravity Powerlifting: In this event, Tracy Dyson took on the role of the weightlifter. Instead of traditional weights, her “barbell” consisted of fellow astronauts Butch Wilmore and Mike Barratt clinging to each end of a bar, which she then lifted with apparent ease.
• Orbital Gymnastics: Matthew Dominick performed a flawless gymnastics routine, executing a series of graceful flips and twists as he flew effortlessly through the station’s corridors. Suni Williams contributed to the gymnastics competition by performing a routine on a makeshift “pommel horse,” using a simple plastic table as her apparatus.
• Weightless Track and Field: The track and field events were similarly adapted. Jeanette Epps demonstrated the “long jump” by launching herself from one end of a module and soaring down its entire length. Mike Barratt hurled a makeshift discus, while Butch Wilmore set a new orbital “record” in the shotput, using a ball made of duct tape.

A Symbol of Cooperation

The ISS Olympics concluded with a heartfelt message from the crew to the athletes competing in Paris. They acknowledged the unique advantage that weightlessness gave them in their “pretend” games and expressed their admiration for the dedication and strength of world-class athletes performing under the full force of gravity. The video montage of the event was a collaborative effort, shared widely across the social media channels of both NASA and the official Olympic Games. This partnership amplified the message, reinforcing the International Space Station’s long-standing role not just as a laboratory for science, but as a powerful symbol of what humanity can achieve through peaceful, international cooperation.

Summary

The history of sports in space charts a fascinating journey, from a single, secret golf shot on the desolate lunar surface to a fully orchestrated and internationally broadcast Olympic-style event aboard a bustling space station. This evolution mirrors the growth of humanity’s presence in space, moving from short, exploratory missions to long-term habitation. Alan Shepard’s personal act of curiosity on the Moon has given way to collaborative events that serve a clear and recognized purpose.

These activities have proven to have a dual function. For the astronauts living and working in the demanding and isolated environment of orbit, play is a vital tool for maintaining mental health, fostering social bonds, and boosting the morale essential for the success of grueling, long-duration missions. For the public back on Earth, these events serve as a powerful and highly accessible form of engagement. They translate the complex and often abstract realities of spaceflight—from the physics of microgravity to the challenges of daily life—into relatable, human moments that captivate, inspire, and educate a global audience.

The story of sports in space is a testament to human ingenuity. The creativity required to adapt a simple game of badminton for an environment with no “up” or “down,” or to transform a roll of duct tape into a shotput, is the same spirit of innovative problem-solving that drives all human exploration. In this context, play is not a distraction from the serious work of the mission; it is a fundamental expression of its core values—adaptability, creativity, and the unyielding human desire to push boundaries, whether in science or in sport.

Appendix: History of Sports in Space