Tennis ball with dots showing rotational spin

Sports

Resources about the science and technology of sports, exercise, and physical fitness, including the Olympics and World Cup.

Cosmic Pitch logo showing a soccerball

NASA's Cosmic Pitch: 
Where Sports Meet Space Science

A global engagement program for the 2026 World Cup and beyond. Developed by NASA’s Universe of Learning and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, these resources use the physics of soccer—spin, speed, acceleration, and collisions—to explain the science of the universe. The resources are evergreen and suitable for youth soccer anytime.

Cosmic Pitch posters
  • Posters & Handouts
  • Activities 
  • Short Videos
  • Tactile 3D models -  3D-printable models of supernova remnants and pulsars
  • Sonification experiences
  • World Cup activities
  • https://chandra.si.edu/cosmicpitch/
     

Olympics

AstrOlympics Winter and Summer games showing an ice skater and a basketball player
  • The AstrOlympics project explores the  range of science found in Olympic athletes as well as cosmic phenomena throughout the universe. By measuring the range of values for such topics as speed, mass, time, pressure, rotation, distance, density and acceleration, we can learn not only about the world around us, but also about the universe we all live in. Created by the Chandra X-ray Center, operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
  • Series of short videos, animated GIFs, activities, posters, and bookmarks

More Resources

Sports and Science

Olympics

Soccer and World Cup Football

 

Annual Events


 

Related Resources

A facilitator holds a bottle while a learner wafts a scent to her nose

Senses

Hands on activities related to the senses - vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. The sensing organs associated with each sense send information to the brain to help us understand and perceive the world around us.

Carbon Fiber Sports Equipment

Learner holds up an atomic structure model of graphene

Carbon

Elemental carbon has many different structural forms including graphite, diamond, carbon nanotubes and buckyballs. The arrangement of atoms at the nanoscale dramatically impacts a material’s macroscale properties and behavior. Hands-on activities explore: observable phenomena such as conductivity of graphite; molecular model-building of different forms; and how new technology may affect society.