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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, NASA technology is helping athletes play the game. Discoveries off the planet have helped develop equipment for the field—from shock-absorbent foam in helmets to retractable stadium roofs.

Explore NASA Technology Transfer and Spinoff

FEATURED IMAGE

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?

An orbital sunrise above the Pacific Ocean

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).

International Space Station

orion capsule

4,625 footballs can fit inside the crew module of the Orion spacecraft, the exploration vehicle that will carry the Artemis II crew to space.

During the Artemis I mission, the Orion spacecraft traveled a distance of over 26,670,964 football fields when it traveled thousands of miles beyond the Moon.

In this close-up image, NASA’s SLS rocket with Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B on Nov. 12, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Slightly off center and at left, the rocket rises above the massive concrete launch pad, its solid rocket booster, upper stage, and Orion spacecraft standing out in white against the sturdy orange core stage. Metallic arms from the rectangular scaffolding of the mobile launcher extend to hold the rocket in place. Also visible within the mist of fog at the launch pad are other metal radio tower structures and a water tower.

The crew configuration for NASA's powerful Moon rocket, the Space Launch System, will be 365 feet tall—that's five feet taller than a football field is long!

Space Launch System

Mars

It would take just over 195 billion footballs, end-to-end, to reach from Earth to Mars at their closest distances. It would take 1.4 trillion when Mars is farther away.

The full Moon stands our against the blackness of the night sky. The Moon appears as a white and gray orb dimpled with craters and valleys.

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. NASA's New Horizons probe holds the record for the fastest uncrewed trip to the Moon, taking 8 hours and 35 minutes.

Views of Super Bowl LIX Cities From Space

iss072e115732 (Oct. 26, 2024) --- The city lights of New Orleans, Louisiana, and its suburbs along the Mississippi River and on the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain are pictured at approximately 1:16 a.m. local time from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above. — The city lights of New Orleans, Louisiana, and its suburbs along the Mississippi River and on the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain are pictured at approximately 1:16 a.m. local time, on Oct. 26, 2024, from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above.
NASA/ Don Pettit

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

Earth observation taken during day pass by Expedition 65 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Image used as part of Twitter message - Philadelphia looks amazing from @Space_Station! So much history in this city. Our nation’s Declaration of Independence & Constitution were signed in Independence Hall. The Liberty Bell & iconic steps leading to the Philadelphia Museum of Art should be added to your must-see list. — Earth observation of Philadelphia taken during a day pass, June 18, 2021, by Expedition 65 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA/Shane Kimbrough

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ARTEMIS I

Orion Spacecraft

Space Launch System (SLS)

International Space Station