Inside the first unofficial 'Space Olympics' aboard the International Space Station

ISS crew photo 2021 — Seven ISS crewmembers competed in the games.
NASA

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station held the first ever Olympic-style competition in space.
The "Space Olympics" was held as a tribute to the Tokyo 2020 games, which came to a close this weekend.
The teams competed in the four "athletic events" and a "closing ceremony" as a way to boost team morale and cohesion.
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Astronauts currently on board the International Space Station held their own version of the Olympics. The tribute was broadcast from the International Space Station stationed in low Earth orbit over 250 miles about the planet's surface.

nasa international space station iss earth clouds sts130 shuttle crew photo february 19 2010 iss_sts130_big — The International Space Station as seen by astronauts from NASA's space shuttle Endeavour on February 19, 2010.
NASA

American astronauts, Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, and Mark Vande Hei, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, Japanese astronaut Ahihiko Hoshide, and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy participated in the friendly competition to honor the end of the Tokyo 2020 games.

ISS crew summer 2021 — ISS crew (from top left to right): Thomas Pesquet, Megan McArthur, Shane Kimbrough, Akihiko Hoshide, (bottom left to right) Mark Vande Hei, Oleg Novitskiy, Pyotr Dubrov.
NASA

The group was divided into two teams named after the ISS-docked spacecrafts, Team Soyuz and Team Dragon.

ISS 'Olympic' teams — The crewmembers were split into two teams representing four different nations.
NASA

The event wasn't sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, but the IOC's official Twitter liked and retweeted the event on Sunday.

Athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympics hold their country's flags during the closing ceremony. — The Olympic athletes stood in a large circle inside Japan's Olympic Stadium while holding their country's official flag.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Source: Twitter

They participated in four events inspired by classic summer Olympic disciplines. Some allowed for outright winners, while others were judged by the team members and ground control.

ISS weightless sharphooting 2 — Astronaut Kimbrough lines up a rubber band shot to its target for 'weightless sharpshooting.'
NASA

Olympic handball typically has players run across the field and throw balls into the opposing goals. In "no handball," players on the two teams used their breaths to blow a small ping pong ball through opposing hatch doors. Team Soyuz won the event.

ISS no hand ball — The two teams line-up for 'no-handball' kick-off.
NASA

Each team choreographed a "synchronized floating" routine in zero-gravity. Here, Team Dragon shuffle together as music plays in the background.

ISS synchronized floating — Team Dragon begins their 'synchronized floating' dance.
NASA

The teams also improvised "gymnastics: lack-of-floor" routines, with the astronauts taking turns doing flips and stylized turns in midair. Cosmonaut Dubrov gained extra points for performing his routine without touching any surface of the module.

ISS gymnastics no floor routine — Cosmonaut Dubrov does turns in midair for his 'no-floor routine' without touching the sides of the module.
NASA

"Weightless sharpshooting" was pretty straightforward, with players aiming rubber bands at a predetermined target. The challenge came in hitting the target while adjusting for the lack of air resistance and gravity.

ISS weightless sharpshooting — Astronauts Pesquet and McArthur line up a their rubber band shots for 'weightless sharpshooting.'
NASA

At the end of the games, Japanese astronaut Hoshide and French astronaut Pesquet coordinated a symbolic "Closing Ceremony." It also mirrored the pass-off of the Olympic Games between the two countries, with the 2024 Summer Olympics being held in Paris.