zero gravity
Astronauts float freely
Zero gravity is the condition of apparent weightlessness, as experienced in orbit or freefall.
Objects and people float freely because they're falling at the same rate as their surroundings.
Strictly speaking, gravity is still present—the term describes the experience rather than the physics: astronauts training in zero gravity, her hair floated in the zero-gravity environment.
Curved celestial path
- ISSOrbiting multinational research facility
- spacewalkVenturing outside a spacecraft
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
- cosmonautRussian orbital traveler
astronaut · spacesuit · spacecraft · space station · EVA · satellite · shuttle · Mir
Absence of apparent mass
- floatingStaying atop liquid
- buoyancyFluid's upward resistance
- driftGradual movement, no direction
- hoverRemain suspended midair
suspend · levitate · glide · airborne · freefall · free float · bob · waft
Shrinkage from disuse
- bone density lossDecreased mineral content in skeleton
- vestibularOf the balance organ
- disorientationLoss of spatial awareness
- space sicknessDisorientation in zero gravity
nausea · motion sickness · proprioception · balance · inner ear · otolith · sensory · edema
Unimpeded downward motion
- inertiaResistance to altered motion
- momentumProduct of mass, velocity
- massQuantity of matter
- accelerationRate velocity changes
Newton's laws · orbital mechanics · gravitation · force · relativity · centripetal · trajectory · vacuum
Absence of constraint
- unboundNot tied down
- releaseTo let go
- escapeFlight from captivity
- unrestrictedHaving no limitations
limitless · unburdened · lightness · euphoria · exhilaration · transcendence · unfettered · carefree
orbit
Curved celestial path
- ISSOrbiting multinational research facility
- spacewalkVenturing outside a spacecraft
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
cosmonaut · astronaut · spacesuit · spacecraft · space station · EVA · satellite · shuttle · Mir · Skylab
weightlessness
Absence of apparent mass
hover · suspend · levitate · glide · airborne · freefall · free float · bob · waft · soar
muscle atrophy
Shrinkage from disuse
- bone density lossDecreased mineral content in skeleton
- vestibularOf the balance organ
- disorientationLoss of spatial awareness
space sickness · nausea · motion sickness · proprioception · balance · inner ear · otolith · sensory · edema · calcium loss
freefall
Unimpeded downward motion
acceleration · Newton's laws · orbital mechanics · gravitation · force · relativity · centripetal · trajectory · vacuum · terminal velocity
freedom
Absence of constraint
unrestricted · limitless · unburdened · lightness · euphoria · exhilaration · transcendence · unfettered · carefree · unanchored
- spaceflightlaunch, astronaut, spacecraft, liftoff, orbit
- space fictionscience fiction, spaceship, sci-fi, astronaut, space adventure
- spacespace, sun, moon, stars, star
- gravitygraviton, escape velocity, gravimeter, weightlessness, gravimetry
- space explorationrockets, Saturn V, satellites, mission, Falcon Heavy
- space termsmoon, star, planet, rocket, satellite
zero gravitygravity
Mutual mass attraction
high gravity · gravitational pull · gravitational force · hypergravity · surface gravity
zero, gravity, zeros, subzero, gravitate, zeroed, zeroing, gravitating, antigravity