Iss national laboratory

FIFA World Cup Trophy: In a unique intersection of space science and sports engineering, the official match ball for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the 'Trionda', was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) with astronauts aboard to study ball balance in microgravity.

"The official FIFA World Cup ball went to space. Soccer balls need to move predictably, so sports engineers carefully measure and optimise their centre of mass and balance," NASA said in an Instagram post.

In partnership with the ISS National Laboratory in 2019, researchers used the station’s microgravity environment to study how a soccer ball’s internal mass affects its motion, stability, and rotation. The findings have improved understanding of how embedded technologies, including match-ball sensors, can influence performance during play. The research contributed to studies used in the development and evaluation of soccer balls for major international tournaments, including FIFA World Cup competition.