Images: Moving Around in Weightlessness in “2001” and 2012

(above) Flight Attendant walks on Velcro-covered walls (while weightless) in the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). With little experience in weightlessness inside a large spacecraft, the experts consulted by Stanley Kubrick in the 1960s felt that space travelers would need to be anchored to something in order to move around. While this is often true for some chores (including the use of Velcro), astronauts will often just fly or float from one point to another.

(above) Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov (left) and Oleg Kononenko, both Expedition 30 flight engineers, are pictured in Zvezda Service Module transfer compartment as they prepare for a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) to continue outfitting the International Space Station. Shkaplerov and Kononenko are wearing blue thermal undergarments that complement the Russian Orlan spacesuit. ISS030-E-078168 (16 Feb. 2012) — high res (2.3 M) low res (123 K)