(Web Desk) - The official match ball made in Pakistan for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has made an unusual journey before the tournament even begins — it has been tested in space.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) used the Adidas-designed Trionda ball in a series of experiments to study how football behaves in microgravity. The tests were aimed at understanding how a ball's balance and centre of mass affect its movement.
The official FIFA World Cup ball went to space! We're working to inspire the next generation by showing how space exploration inspires innovation in sports science — and everyday life. Learn more: https://t.co/CWbI8MFDtp pic.twitter.com/ebJtkpD5uM
— NASA (@NASA) June 20, 2026Sharing pictures from the experiment on Instagram, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said the crew recreated a study first carried out in 2019.
The exercise demonstrated how differences in balance can change the way a football moves.
"The official FIFA World Cup ball went to space," NASA said, explaining that sports engineers carefully fine-tune a ball's balance to ensure it behaves consistently during matches.
NASA said the findings could also help researchers understand how modern technologies inside footballs influence their performance.
"Helping to improve the beautiful game is just one of the ways NASA science done on the International Space Station makes life better for people on Earth," the space agency said.