Veteran Astronaut Hits a Solo Home Run in Microgravity

Astronaut Playing Baseball In Space🧑‍🚀⚾🚀#astronaut #nasa #usa #interview #investing #podcast #shorts

One-Man Baseball in Orbit: Koichi Wakata’s Out-of-This-World Game

Solo Home Run in Microgravity

“It’s baseball season – the MLB season opener is kicking off in Japan. During Expedition 68 I played a solo game of baseball. In microgravity you don’t need a whole team, you can play all of the positions!”

With those words and a playful video from space, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata launched a whole new conversation—about baseball, space, and just how far creativity can travel in zero gravity.

Wakata, who recently retired from JAXA after a legendary career including over 500 days in space across five missions, took to social media to celebrate the MLB season opener in Japan—but with a cosmic twist. Floating aboard the International Space Station (ISS), he pitched, hit, and caught his own baseballs, turning America’s pastime into a microgravity marvel.

“In microgravity, you don’t need a whole team; you can play all of the positions!”

The clip, shared on X, drew attention from tech magnate Elon Musk, along with fellow astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield, who reshared the video with a cheerful shoutout:
“That’s friend Koichi Wakata inside the JAXA module of the International Space Station – Japan plays great baseball!”

Fans and followers reacted with amusement and awe. One user chimed in:
“seems fun! is there such a game that could be called spaceball? if humanity were to migrate to space at one point what kinda sports would ppl bring/create w (do we have a good amount of data to just begin to imagine idk) just a random thought,”

Astronaut Playing Baseball In Space🧑‍🚀⚾🚀 #astronaut #nasa #usa #interview #investing #podcast #shorts

Others offered simple but heartfelt appreciation:
“Very impressive sir! Great reflexes!”
“Baseball game just got funnier. Keep up Astro Koichi,”
“Do we ever really grow up? This makes me smile.”

Wakata’s unique take on the sport not only offered a delightful slice of life in space but also inspired a broader sense of curiosity about the future of recreation beyond Earth. Without gravity, the ball doesn’t fall. Motions become slower, exaggerated. What was once ordinary becomes surreal—yet joy remains universal.

Having flown aboard the space shuttle, Soyuz, and SpaceX’s Dragon, Wakata’s resume already reads like a sci-fi epic. Add to that his two spacewalks with astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann, and now—a solo baseball match in orbit—and he’s quickly becoming a legend not just in science, but in space culture.

As Earth-bound folks continue to gaze up at the stars, moments like these bring us a little closer to the humans making history above us. Whether you’re a baseball fan, a space geek, or someone who just loves a good story, Koichi Wakata’s solo game is a home run in every sense.

Source: