What’s your Space Height?

Your Mission: Measure different body parts and explore how these measurements might change in space.

How tall are you? Are you sure you know the answer?

Studies show that the height of an astronaut increases approximately 3% over the first 3 to 4 days of weightlessness in space. As soon as astronauts return back to Earth, gravity pulls on them once again and astronauts will typically return to their pre-flight height in a short amount of time. In space, almost all of this height increase comes from changes in the spinal column, which affects body measurements such as sitting height, eye height, standing height, how space suits fit, and much
more.

Skills

Measuring, Comparing, Teamwork

Learning Objectives

Measure body for height, leg length and arm span
Compare measurements
Record observations about Earth vs. space height in the Mission Journal

Equipment

Tape measure
For students: Mission Journal and pencil

Time

15 minutes per class

Resource available in:

English, French, Japanese

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