SPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

摘要

During our master's thesis, about improving the way astronauts exercise on the International Space Station, we came in contact with a multitude of people engaged in different sectors of society and with different age and background. It was surprisingly many who had no idea about ISS at all. In this paper we will discuss the possibilities to introduce sport in space, on ISS in particular, as a step towards lightening up space missions with more drama and excitement. From a holistic viewpoint the huge gap between exercise on Earth and in space is apparent. While on Earth we have fun, show our skills, compete, reach goals, strike goals, do sports, celebrate sport and bet on winners, in space the astronauts simply work out while distracting themselves with music. How can exercise in space, for example on ISS, be given the same wide meaning as on Earth? The outcome of our master's thesis was several concepts for making exercise on ISS more fun, challenging, sport-like and better integrated. It includes completely new concepts, but also possible improvements to what is already there. The point for the session is not so much the astronaut's motivation to exercise, but the great outreach potential hidden in the two hours of exercise that each astronaut performs every day.