Galactic Gooey Adventure: Astronauts Send This Strange Object Into Space for Experiment

Nickelodeon’s Slime Made Its Debut in Space

In a time when space exploration revealed some unusual concepts, Nickelodeon, the top kids' network, sent something unusual to space for an experiment. The company sent green, gooey slime as part of its 40th-anniversary celebration, adding a touch of Earthly fun to space. This move amazed the astronomy community, with astronauts playing with the slime in zero gravity. Researchers had not given up on their wildest imaginations and had sent many such items to space stations. It clearly showed how trends could travel to even the farthest places imaginable.

Nickelodeon's One-of-a-Kind Celebration

Last summer, Nickelodeon sent about two liters of slime to the International Space Station. Nickelodeon alum Victoria Justice (Zoey 101, Victorious, Fun Size), who hosted that year's awards show, shared on NickALive! , "We sent slime into outer space, and yes, it was out of this world. I couldn’t wait to see what happened when astronauts let slime loose in zero gravity!" Astronauts Koch, Parmitano, and Morgan spent two hours experimenting with it in the station's kitchen area and were astonished by some of the scientific discoveries they made during the experiment.

Eye-Opening Insights

The slime experiment helped researchers study the concept of 'viscous limit.' Knewz.com noted that slime was 20,000 times more viscous and thicker than water, demonstrating its mix of solid and liquid properties. However, without gravity, the slime’s surface tension (the force that made the surface of a liquid act like a stretchy film) became more noticeable. Mark Weislogel, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Portland State University, explained to CNN , "When gravity is small, our intuition stalled when it comes to liquids in space. Without bubbles rising and droplets falling, most of our fluid systems we designed for life on Earth didn’t work."

Astronauts Relived Their Childhood

The astronauts started the experiments by putting equal amounts of slime and water into the space station, which turned into floating blobs. The slime stretched into an oval shape while spinning and returned to a ball shape when the spinning stopped. When Parmitano put the slime on the paddles, which repelled water, the slime stuck to them. Parmitano then created 3D waves in the slime by moving the paddle up and down. Rihana Mungin, a mechanical engineering graduate research assistant at Portland State University, shared with CNN , "It was such a unique experience. It was pure joy sending slime to space and then getting to come back to it by doing experiments with kids who had the same excitement level as mine. Ultimate science could have such an impact on kids looking to go into STEM."

Nickelodeon Famed Slime

The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the non-profit organization, explained on NickALive! , "Slime was a non-Newtonian fluid, a material in which its viscosity (resistance to flow) changed based on the amount of shear stress applied to it — for example, through squeezing or stirring." However, not every slime was as famous as Nickelodeon's. Nickelodeon's slime gained fame through celebrated shows like "You Can't Do That on Television," "Double Dare," and "Legends of the Hidden Temple." Tim Douglas was the first person to slime on television, and getting slimed soon became a fun trend. Nickelodeon then used slime in challenges like the Slime Canal and the Nick Blimp, where contestants got covered in slime. Even award shows and other events were hosted with slime.