• Question: Are there any musical instruments in the ISS? If so, do they sound the same?

    Asked by Ethan Lilly on 27 Dec 2015. This question was also asked by Jay Pinkney.
    • Photo: Steve Price

      Steve Price answered on 27 Dec 2015:

      Hi, I forget which astronaut took his guitar. There are pictures of him playing it. Sound is the vibration of air molecules that in turn make your eardrum vibrate. The atmosphere on the ISS is approximately one atmospheric pressure. So the air molecules would vibrate in the same way as on Earth. So the sound would be pretty much the same. The composition of the air on the ISS will be slightly different than on Earth.
      I suspect that if you were a regular musician and your hearing was really good, you would detect a slight difference, but to most people it would sound the same.
      Also I would think that the acoustics in the inside of the ISS will not be so great. As I said, to most people it will sound the same.

    • Photo: Adrianos Golemis

      Adrianos Golemis answered on 27 Dec 2015:

      As Steve said, a few Astronauts play instruments even in space, yes. The most popular of them in recent history being Commander Chris Hadfield (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poZCINzxzrQ)!

    • Photo: Jean-François Clervoy

      Jean-François Clervoy answered on 18 Jan 2016:

      Hello Ethan,

      Yes, musician astronauts have taken instruments in space, depending on weight and room available on resupply cargo missions. In space, we have seen guitars, a flute, a keyboard organ, harmonica, and recently bagpipes.

Comments