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Space and Football

There are more connections between space
and football than you may think!

Featured Video

NASA at the Big Game

No matter what team you’re rooting for, our technology is helping you play the game. Our discoveries off the planet have developed all sorts of equipment on the field — from shock-absorbent foam in helmets to retractable stadium roofs. Go NASA!

Learn More About NASA Spinoffs

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Comparison of the Size of the International Space Station

The International Space Station measures 357 feet end-to-end. That’s almost equivalent to the length of a football field including the end zones (360 feet).

More Space Station Facts and Figures

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Artificial image of the ISS today

The International Space Station measures 357 feet end-to-end. That’s almost equivalent to the length of a football field including the end zones (360 feet).

Did You Know?

4,625 footballs can fit inside the Orion crew module, NASA’s spacecraft for deep space missions with astronauts.
Orion traveled a distance of over 26,670,964 football fields when it traveled thousands of miles beyond the Moon during Artemis I.
NASA’s powerful Moon rocket, the SLS (Space Launch System), will be 365 feet tall in its future crew configurations – 5 feet taller than a football field is long.
An average NFL game lasts more than three hours. Traveling at 17,500 mph, the crew on the space station will see two sunrises and two sunsets in that time (they see 16 sunrises and sunsets each day).
It would take just over 195 billion footballs, end-to-end, to reach from Earth to Mars at their closest distances. When Mars is farther away from Earth, it would take 1.4 trillion footballs.
On Mars, a football would weigh less than half a pound (only .38 pounds) while a 200-pound football player would weigh just about 75 pounds.
If you threw a football to the Moon at 60 mph, the average speed of an NFL pass, it would take 3,982 hours, or 166 days, to get there. The quickest trip to the Moon was the New Horizons probe, which zipped past the Moon in just 8 hours 35 minutes on its way to Pluto.
The longest field goal kick in NFL history is 64 yards. On Mars, at ⅓ the gravity of Earth, that same field goal, ignoring air resistance, could have been made from almost two football fields away (192 yards).
Aerodynamic drag doesn’t happen on Mars. With a very thin atmosphere and low gravity to drag the ball down, a quarterback could throw the football three times as far as he could on Earth. A receiver would have to be much further down the field to catch the quarterback’s throw.

Football Shareables

Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory Fact

Views of Super Bowl LVIII Cities From Space

A view of Las Vegas from space. Harry Reid International Airport is visible slightly to the right of the center of the image, and Allegiant Stadium is visible just above the airport. The land is a variety of tans and greens, and there are many square city patterns surrounding the airport on all sides. — This daytime view from the International Space Station, taken on July 28, 2023, shows the city of Las Vegas, with Allegiant Stadium visible above Harry Reid International Airport. The orbital lab was flying 223 miles above Earth at the time of this photograph.
NASA, MBRSC/Sultan Alneyadi

A view of Kansas City, Missouri, from space. The winding Missouri River is the focal point of the image, and Arrowhead Stadium is visible to the lower left of the river. The land is green, while the downtown city areas appear gray. — This daytime view from the International Space Station, taken on Sept. 30, 2023, shows the city of Kansas City, Missouri, with Arrowhead Stadium visible to the left of the Missouri River. The orbital lab was flying 220 miles above Earth at the time of this photograph.
NASA/Loral O’Hara

A view of Santa Clara, California, from space. San Francisco Bay is the focal point of the image, and Levi's Stadium is visible just above the bay near the center of the image. The land is a mixture of reds and greens, the mountains are brown, the water is a mixture of blues and greens, and the city areas appear gray. — This daytime view from the International Space Station, taken on Oct. 18, 2023, shows the city of Santa Clara, California, with Levi’s Stadium visible near the center of the image. The orbital lab was flying 220 miles above Earth at the time of this photograph.
NASA/Jasmin Moghbeli

Learn More

10 Space and Football Facts You Probably Didn’t Know

There are more connections between space and football than you may have originally thought. Here are a few examples.

Rocket Ranch Episode 30: NASA's Commercial Crew Program turns 10, looks forward to an amazing year.

Rocket Ranch – Episode 21: NFL Quarterback: Rocket Arm AND Mind

And with the number one overall pick in the Kennedy Space Center NFL Draft, NASA selects Jacksonville, Jaguar quarterback and aerospace engineer Josh Dobbs.

Football

NASA Meets the Big Game: Five Things Space and Football Have in Common

A football player’s journey to the end zone has a lot more in common to space exploration than one might think. Here are five similarities.

Image shows florescent dye shows a straight line in front and wakes behind the football

NASA Turns the Super Bowl Into Lesson in Aerodynamics

The way air moves around different shapes plays a significant role in the flight of all sports balls. What is the best way to throw a football? Why does a curve ball curve, why does it knuckle?