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Q: Which explains why astronauts seem weightless in orbit?
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Continue Learning about Astronomy

Where can you go in a zero gravity chamber?

There is no such thing as a zero gravity chamber. The only way to experience weightlessness is in freefall. There are planes that you can board which will go into dives up to 30 seconds long. During these dives the planes are in freefall. Since you are falling at the same rate as the plane is, you will seem to float around the cabin and will feel weightless. It is the same reason that astronauts in orbit are weightless.


Are astronauts on the moon weightless?

They are not weighless, they actually have the same mass that they would on earth, however since gravity on the moon is 1/6 that of earth they just seem to be much lighter.


Why do astronauts feel heavier during launch?

Astronauts feel heavier during launch because of the upward motion of the spacecraft. This has the effect of adding extra "g's," or gravity forces, making everything seem heavier while the thrust is occurring.


Why does mars occasionally seem to go backwards in the sky?

Mars seems to orbit backwards because the Earth is orbiting at a faster rate so when Earth passes Mars it seems to orbit backwards.


Why do astronauts float around in the shuttle instead of falling?

They are falling ! As you see them on TV floating around in the shuttle (or outside it), they are falling towards the earth. So is the shuttle, at exactly the same acceleration, which is why they seem to hover in mid-air; they are moving exactly in time with the shuttle. In fact, shuttle and astronauts are both moving; pretty fast, too, around 18,000 mph. And that is the big secret as to why they don't crash to earth. They are falling towards the earth's surface, but the surface of the earth is curved. Because they are travelling around the earth, it's surface is receding from them, and it just happens to be moving away at the same rate as the shuttle (and contents) are falling towards it. This is called an orbit, and it doesn't really "just happen"; the engineers who program the launch vehicle take some trouble to get the final velocity just right to achieve the orbit that they want.

Related questions

Where can you go in a zero gravity chamber?

There is no such thing as a zero gravity chamber. The only way to experience weightlessness is in freefall. There are planes that you can board which will go into dives up to 30 seconds long. During these dives the planes are in freefall. Since you are falling at the same rate as the plane is, you will seem to float around the cabin and will feel weightless. It is the same reason that astronauts in orbit are weightless.


Are astronauts on the moon weightless?

They are not weighless, they actually have the same mass that they would on earth, however since gravity on the moon is 1/6 that of earth they just seem to be much lighter.


Why do astronauts feel weightless while in orbit?

Astronauts in orbit are weightless, but not because they are beyond the pull of earth's gravity. If the moon, roughly 240,000 miles away, is within the influence of earth's gravity, so is an astronaut just a few miles up in comparison. Astronauts are weightless because they are in orbit, and being in orbit can be thought of very roughly as a special kind of freefall. They are held by gravity, but they are also moving along a path that keeps them from descending appreciably during their flight. If you remember clips you have seen of astronauts in the space station, floating freely, you can see how futile it would be to try to 'stand' on an ordinary house scale to measure how 'heavy' they are in pounds. But if you could sling an astronaut around on a kind of mass-measuring centrifuge (not too fast, of course) you would see that they are maintaining a healthy mass. Weight and mass are different measures, even if they seem to be indistinguishable on the earth's surface.


Were else can you find gravity but earth?

Yes. Gravity exists everywhere in the universe as all objects have a gravitational pull. Objects in space do not seem weightless because there is no gravity. Rather they seem weightless because they are in freefall.


Why do astronauts seem to fly inside their spacecraft?

because of unavailability of gravity.


How would you turn in space if there is no gravity?

To start off, there is indeed gravity in space. Objects in orbit only seem weightless because they are already in freefall. Gravity is the main forces that affects objects in space and can be used to change a trajectory. You can also change your speed and direction in space by firing rockets.


What is the weight of a falling object that has a mass of 16 kg?

0 because while the mass remains at 16 Kg, as the object is falling its weight (caused by the pull of gravity on its mass) becomes 0 as its acceleration equals that of the acceleration due to gravity. (This is why things seem weightless when in orbit round the Earth - they are actually falling).


Do astronauts seem comfortable in space suits?

Yes space suits are comfortable because of the padding in the suits.


Where there is no gravity in space then why planets revolving around the sun in a fix orbit?

There is gravity in space. Planets are gravitationally attracted to the sun, which is why they remain in orbit around the sun. There is a phenomenon that we see in orbit that is sometimes called weightlessness, although that is a misleading term. Free fall is a more accurate term. An orbiting object (or astronaut) is still being gravitationally attracted to the Earth, but because of the orbital velocity, does not actually fall to the Earth but orbits around it instead. Instead of falling downward, such objects are effectively falling in a circle (or elliptical path). They seem to be weightless but they do still have weight.


What hypothesis by Alfred Wegener explains why continents seem to fit together?

plate tectonics


What hypothesis by Alfred wegener explains why continents seem to fit togethere?

Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift, suggesting that continents were once joined together in a single supercontinent called Pangaea. Over time, the supercontinent broke apart and the continents drifted to their current positions, explaining why they seem to fit together like pieces of a puzzle.


Which best explains what a scene is?

A section of a story in which events seem to be happening - Apex