NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Don Pettit works with two still cameras mounted together one of which is an infrared modified still camera. Photo credit: NASA
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Don Pettit prepares to insert biological samples in the Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI-1) in the Kibo laboratory. Photo credit: NASA
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NASA and the American Physical Society (APS) have partnered to share unique videos from the International Space Station with students, educators and science fans from around the world. NASA astronaut Don Pettit will use everyday objects from Earth to demonstrate physics through "Science off the Sphere."

› Watch a sample of Pettit's new physics demonstrations

Space fans know Pettit well from previous visits to space when he performed science demonstrations like the "Zero G Coffee Cup."

› Watch Don Pettit make a coffee cup in space

Pettit, currently on the orbiting outpost as a member of the Expedition 30 crew, is continuing these demonstrations. This time he has added a physics challenge for the viewers.

APS, the professional society for physicists, will share the "Science off the Sphere" videos with students, educators and science fans by making them available on its outreach website, Physics Central. The website also will feature educational content on the physics topics demonstrated in space by Pettit and facilitate the challenge. APS also will host the physics-oriented challenges to ignite interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Segments of "Science off the Sphere" will end with a question for the viewers. APS will review the responses and identify a winner. Pettit will recognize the winner in a future installment.

To view APS' Physics Central website, visit:

http://www.physicscentral.com/sots

To view Pettit's science experiments performed during Expedition 6, visit:

http://go.usa.gov/nOX