Super Bowl 50 Will Be Watched From Space

Super Bowl 50 is a big deal, even outside of earth. Astronauts on the International Space Station are getting ready to watch the game from space, and they even have some free time to enjoy it.

According to Digital Trends, the astronauts might as well have the best seats in the stadium. Well, almost. With a 65-inch screen and high-definition projector, Super Bowl 50 might seem as though it’s going on in space, except they won’t have all those issues with gravity because the International Space Station is in a constant state of free fall.

The Super Bowl 50 viewing in space will be viewed in real time, so there’s no chance of anyone in Mission Control spilling who won the game prematurely. We’re guessing, “Houston, we have a problem,” wouldn’t be the phrase of choice if that occurred.

Normally, Sundays are off days for the astronauts anyway, and their days would be spent exercising or doing whatever they want to do. Some of the astronauts are into photography, others enjoy playing musical instruments, and some like to read books. We’re guessing one of them up there has to be a sports fanatic.

Tomorrow, it’s back to life as normal on the International Space Station, whether the Broncos or the Panthers win the game or not. The astronauts have work to do while they’re up there, and they don’t have time to play around while floating as much as we’d like them to for our amusement.

Astronauts in space got to watch the Super Bowl last year, so Super Bowl 50 isn’t a first in space. The astronauts get to watch new movies and other things while they’re hanging out in the International Space Station during down time. They even got to watch the new Star Wars movie when it came out, and got to ask for other movies and shows they want to see.

NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra haven’t announced whether they think the Denver Broncos or the Carolina Panthers will win Super Bowl 50, but Space says Kelly is a Houston Texans fan.

Having a Super Bowl party in space would be the ultimate Super Bowl party. Doing multiple moves while “floating” when your favorite team scores a touchdown would be amazing. Screaming like no one could hear you (because no one really could, other than your fellow astronauts) when the quarterback isn’t getting rid of that football fast enough could really feel great.

However, there’s nothing quite like being down on earth celebrating Super Bowl 50 with your friends and family. You might not be able to do synchronized spins in midair for a touchdown or send a Cheeto across the room into your best friend’s mouth for the fun of it, but nothing compares to being at the game or in the comfort of your own home.

In addition to astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra, British astronaut Tim Peake and cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko, Yuri Malenchenko, and Sergey Volkov might take a peek at Super Bowl 50 to get in on arguably America’s favorite sports game of the year.

[Photo by Alexander Gerst/ESA/Getty Images]