Ahead of our Space Season, we gathered together a few of our favourite facts about space!
- The Ballpoint Pen Was Invented During the Space Race – The ballpoint pen was invented by expert researchers at NASA after astronauts had problems using pens in zero-gravity conditions. The Russians had the same problem, but they decided just to use pencils instead!
- You become taller in Space – When you’re in space, your spine straightens out because gravity is not pushing you down – most astronauts become two inches taller when they’re in space.
- Manchester is closer to space than it is to York – Space officially begins at an invisible line 100km above the Earth called the Karman Line. If you could drive a car straight upwards, you’d be in space in just over an hour, even with no traffic you’d never get to York in that time!
- The word astronaut means ‘star sailor’ – It comes from the Greek words for star – “Astron” and sailor – “nautes”.
- Space is a messy place – Scientists think that there are around 500,000 pieces of ‘Space Junk’ orbiting earth. ‘Space junk’ is any man-made object orbiting the earth that serves no useful purpose, this includes tools dropped during the construction of the space station, and fragments from spacecraft that have broken off mid-mission.
Recounting history’s greatest adventure, the race between the United States and the Soviet Union to send the first man to the moon, One Small Step is an inventive, funny and surprisingly moving action-packed show that crams 50 years of history into 60 minutes!