Buzz
We often view the world around us as a set of unchanging constants. But as we expand our presence into space, we're beginning to realize that some of these so-called truths aren’t as universal as we once believed.
10. Burping
On Earth, gravity pulls liquids to the bottom of your stomach, while gases rise to the top. In space, where gravity doesn’t function the same way, astronauts experience what's known as “wet burps.” This results in the expulsion of liquids that gravity would typically keep in place during a simple burp.
For this reason, the International Space Station doesn’t carry carbonated beverages. Even if they did, without gravity pulling the gases to the top, soda wouldn’t lose its fizz as quickly, and beer wouldn’t develop a foamy head.
9. Speed
In space, bits of random debris travel so fast that they exceed our ability to perceive them. The countless tiny particles of space junk that orbit Earth move at an average velocity of 35,500 kilometers (22,000 miles) per hour. At such high speeds, you wouldn’t notice the objects coming. Instead, mysterious holes would simply appear in nearby structures—assuming you were fortunate enough not to be the target of them.
Last year, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured an image of a hole in the station’s massive solar panels. This hole was likely caused by an impact with one of the tiny bits of space debris, probably just a millimeter or two across. But there’s no need to worry—NASA expects collisions like this, and the station’s hull is designed to withstand such impacts.
8. Alcohol Production
Far beyond our solar system, near the Aquila constellation, lies a vast gas cloud containing approximately 190 trillion trillion liters of alcohol—that’s 400 trillion trillion pints. This discovery challenges many of our scientific assumptions. Ethanol is a relatively complex molecule to form in such large quantities, and the frigid temperatures in space would normally prevent the chemical reactions needed to produce alcohol from happening at all.
In a laboratory experiment simulating space conditions, scientists combined two organic compounds at -210 degrees Celsius (-346 °F). The chemicals reacted much faster than expected—about 50 times faster than they would at room temperature, rather than at the slow pace scientists had anticipated.
Quantum tunneling might be the cause. This phenomenon allows particles to behave like waves and absorb energy from their surroundings, enabling them to pass through barriers that would otherwise prevent the chemical reactions.
7. Static Electricity
Static electricity has some truly astonishing effects. For example, in the video above, water droplets can be seen orbiting a statically charged knitting needle. Electrostatic forces act over distances, pulling objects toward the needle in much the same way gravity draws planets together, causing the droplets to enter a constant state of free fall.
Static electricity is far more potent than many of us realize. Scientists are currently developing a static electricity tractor beam with the aim of cleaning up space debris. Yes, that shocking feeling you get when you touch a door in the winter could someday power futuristic space vacuum cleaners. With an ever-expanding cloud of space junk orbiting Earth, this beam could capture debris and fling it out into the void of space.
6. Vision
Twenty percent of astronauts who have spent time aboard the International Space Station report experiencing vision problems once they return to Earth. However, the reason for this remains a mystery.
We once believed that the low gravity in space causes body fluids to float upward into the skull, increasing cranial pressure. However, new research indicates that this might actually be linked to polymorphisms—enzymes that vary slightly from the norm and could affect how the body processes nutrients.
5. Surface Tension
On Earth, we hardly notice surface tension because gravity generally overpowers it. But in the absence of gravity, surface tension becomes far more noticeable. For example, when an astronaut wrings out a washcloth in space, the water doesn’t fall but instead clings to the cloth, forming a tube-like shape.
When water isn’t adhering to something, it forms a sphere due to its surface tension. Astronauts must be careful when handling water, as it can form tiny floating droplets that can scatter in all directions.
4. Exercise
We’ve all heard that astronauts’ muscles weaken in space, but to combat these effects, astronauts need to exercise far more than most of us would expect. Space is no place for the faint of heart, and to avoid having the bone density of an elderly person, astronauts often need to train like bodybuilders. NASA even calls exercise the “number one health priority in space.” It’s not about avoiding solar radiation or evading asteroids—it’s just plain, daily exercise.
Without a strict exercise regimen, astronauts don’t just return to Earth slightly weaker. They can lose so much bone and muscle mass that they might be unable to walk when gravity is reintroduced. While regaining muscle mass is possible with effort, rebuilding bone mass is practically impossible.
3. Crystallization
Japanese researchers have studied how crystals form in microgravity by bombarding helium crystals with acoustic waves under simulated weightlessness. Typically, helium crystals would take a long time to reform after being broken, but these crystals were suspended in a superfluid—a liquid that flows without any friction. This environment caused the helium to rapidly form a crystal nearly 10 millimeters (0.4 inches) in size, an unusually large crystal.
It seems that space provides the perfect conditions to grow larger, higher-quality crystals. Since we use silicon crystals in nearly all of our electronics, this discovery could eventually lead to better electronic devices.
2. Radiation
The Sun is essentially a massive nuclear explosion, but Earth’s magnetic field acts as a protective barrier, shielding us from the most dangerous rays. Missions to space, like those to the International Space Station, remain within the Earth's magnetic field, and the existing shielding is highly effective at blocking the Sun’s harmful emissions.
However, further out in space, astronauts are completely unprotected. If we aim to reach Mars or establish a space station around the Moon, we’ll face high-energy background particles that have traveled from dying stars and supernovas. When these particles collide with current shields, they generate shrapnel that is even more hazardous than the radiation itself. To address this, scientists are working on developing radiation shielding made from lighter elements to prevent this dangerous shrapnel from forming upon impact.
1. Germs
Imagine the surprise when we sent salmonella samples into space and they returned seven times more deadly than before. This unsettling result initially raised concerns for the health of astronauts, but it ultimately prompted scientists to discover ways to combat salmonella both in space and on Earth.
Salmonella can sense “fluid shear” (the turbulence of the fluid around it), and it uses this information to determine its position in the human body. While traveling through the intestines, it detects high fluid shear and moves toward the intestinal wall. Upon contact with the wall, it senses lower shear and activates to burrow into the wall and enter the bloodstream. In a weightless environment, the bacteria is constantly exposed to low shear, which causes it to permanently shift into an active, virulent state.
By analyzing the salmonella genes activated in low gravity, scientists discovered that high ion concentrations can suppress the bacteria. This insight could eventually lead to the development of vaccines and treatments for salmonella poisoning.
