Microgravity is the sensation of weightlessness experienced in free fall or orbit around the earth. Gravity is still acting on the person or object, but they are falling at the same speed as their surroundings. This can be experienced on a roller coaster, in space, or by jumping. NASA uses a plane called the “vomit comet” to simulate microgravity.
The weightlessness that one experiences in free fall or in orbit around the earth is actually microgravity. These situations create a sense of floating, but gravity is still acting on the person or object, hence the term microgravity is used. If you’ve ever ridden a roller coaster that took you rapidly up and down a hill, or stopped right at the top of a rapid climb, you’ve experienced this phenomenon.
When you fall at the same speed as your surroundings, you experience microgravity, the sensation of floating in space. Astronauts orbiting the earth experience long periods of near weightlessness as they orbit. The astronauts and their space shuttle or space station are both falling at the same speed, so microgravity makes it appear as if they are floating in it.
A vehicle, such as the space shuttle, that is in orbit around the earth is actually constantly falling towards it. The space shuttle is moving at a very high speed in the right direction, so even though it is falling towards the earth, it is still “missing”. Moving at such a high speed, it essentially falls around the earth over and over again. Gravity is still pushing it down, but because the shuttle and the astronauts inside fall at the same rate, the astronauts experience weightlessness, or microgravity.
NASA has an aircraft known as a “vomit comet” that is used to create this experience without going into orbit. By flying the plane up and down in parabolic arcs, the same shape as the repeated bumps of a roller coaster, passengers experience brief periods of microgravity. Scenes from the film Apollo 13 that showed the actors experiencing near weightlessness were filmed on this aircraft.
You can also experience this phenomenon without riding a roller coaster or “vomit comet”. Each time you jump, you will be in a very short period of microgravity at its peak. It’s easiest to notice when you jump particularly high, using a pogo stick or trampoline. Even though you feel weightless, gravity is still pulling you back towards the earth. When you land, remember that it wasn’t quite weightlessness, it was microgravity.
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