A Wonderleaf question
Why do astronauts float in space?
a real page from the book
Astronauts float because they and their spacecraft are in free fall around Earth. Gravity is still pulling, but the station moves sideways so fast that it keeps missing the ground, and everything inside falls together at the same rate.
That floating is called microgravity, and it is a long version of the light feeling at the top of a jump. The International Space Station circles Earth about every ninety minutes, so astronauts can see many sunrises in one day.
Wonder words
- gravity
- orbit
- microgravity
- station
Try it out
Drop a small ball and a crumpled paper at the same time, then talk about falling together.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
- How do satellites stay in orbit?
- Could people live on Mars someday?
- What is a shooting star?
- What is a black hole?
- Why is space so dark?
- Why is the moon sometimes out during the day?
And the next question?
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