theatlanticvideo:

Can an Astronaut Move Like a Falling Cat?

In 1968, Professor Thomas R. Kane conducted an experiment to see if astronauts could move like falling cats. A photographer for LIFE Magazine, Ralph Crane, documented his results, and here we’ve turned them into a stop-motion video. Alexis Madrigal goes into the science of it in a post for The Atlantic:

Two things to say here. First, OMG this is so awesome! Second, Kane’s work was part of a major movement in science to understand biological beings in the new context of space. New types of scientists began to think about biology and they brought new methods and ways of thinking. The key thought was: organisms are like machines, so we can test them like machines to deduce their capabilities and breaking points.

Via Michelle Legro and How to Be a Retronaut.

1. anindiscriminatecollection reblogged this from theatlantic
2. blarceny likes this
3. xea likes this
4. pheezy likes this
5. gailynbybee likes this
6. murmurandshout likes this
7. natetron likes this
8. isthispaleo reblogged this from theatlantic
9. dariuscaine likes this
10. naveen likes this
11. blech likes this
12. slavin reblogged this from theatlantic
13. theredshoes likes this
14. asteriskos likes this
15. michaelk42 reblogged this from theatlantic
16. tarataratara likes this
17. theatlantic reblogged this from theatlanticvideo
18. chels likes this
19. theatlanticvideo posted this