Best Pranks From Astronauts On April Fool’s Day

2nd Apr 2023
Best Pranks From Astronauts On April Fool’s Day

With April Fool’s Day fast approaching, we thought it would be a good change of pace to include some of the best pranks from our friends high in the sky.
Astronauts, engineers, and scientists are not immune to the odd prank or two; in fact, our space explorers love to see the fun that can be had when living in a desolate place like the vacuum of space.
Inherently, it can be difficult to find the irony of living in space, but then again, they’re only human and their pranks have become the stuff of legend. So, here they are, the best jokes and pranks from astronauts onboard the ISS.

Our Favourite Space Pranks so Far!

Pranks on the International Space Station may come at odd times, but they do offer a light-hearted break from all the complex research of space exploration. When we look at organisations like NASA, they offer an insight into the work they do, but, it can be difficult to wrap our head’s around; by deploying a few humorous posts on social media, they help us feel connected to the important work they’re doing. So, here are some of the best space-orientated pranks that we had a good chuckle over.

The Potato Asteroid

Best April Fool's pranks: Arrokoth Asteroid
Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/National Optical Astronomy Observatory (left)
Jack Sutton (right)

In 2020 when the COVID-19 Pandemic was at its peak and uncertainty was in abundance, NASA offered a nice break from the doom and gloom with the potato asteroid. On the NASA APOD Twitter page, they hit the nail on the head with a cracking April Fool’s Day prank by featuring a comparatively accurate representation of the Arrokoth Asteroid. The image left readers chuckling over the question: is it, in fact, the Arrokoth asteroid or just a humble potato?

Now we all know that it’s a potato, but it does have an uncanny resemblance, does it not?

An Alien Aboard the ISS

Best April Fool's pranks: alien aboard the ISS
Image credit: Canadian Space Agency/Chris Hadfield (Cmdr_Hadfield)

We had to go a little further in the archives to retrieve this one, but in 2013, astronaut Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency welcomed a little green friend aboard the International Space Station. Looking naturally freaked out, Chris took to Twitter to expose his latest discovery, playing on the fact that the day was, in actuality, April Fool’s Day – a great post by Chris!

Space Grenades

Best April Fool's pranks:  ISS Space Grenades
Image credit: Canadian Space Agency/Chris Hadfield (Cmdr_Hadfield)

Another piece of space-related satire from Chris Hadfield regarding Space Grenades aboard the ISS. Viewers were left inquisitive when the post hit social media, wondering what astronauts would need with space grenades – are they for taking on Space Rabbits? Brother Hadfield then drip-fed his followers the True Answer: harmless air sampling devices (they really do look like the Holy Hand Grenades of the ISS to us!)

A Suit-less Space Walk

April Fool's Pranks ISS spacewalk without suits
Image credit: NASA

We all know that to explore space, we can’t just jump outside like we can on our humble plant. Space is a cruel and vast arena where humans cannot breathe without intricate equipment. Needless to say, we were all dumbfounded when a post hit social media featuring three ISS astronauts doing a space walk without their suits! Naturally, viewers found the amusing side of the April Fool’s Day prank, so there’s no cause for panic.

Bonus:  The Space Gorilla

Serious stuff isn’t always the agenda of the day aboard the International Space Station, and this was shown when British Astronaut Tim Peake was chased by a furry extra-terrestrial. Tim got the shock of his life when a gorilla came bounding down the halls of the ISS, after jumping out of the seemingly empty bag that Tim was previously moving. Although this monkey businesses didn’t occur on April Fool’s Day, this prank was too good to not be included – some may say it will go down in ISS pranking history. Ultimately, this prank highlighted the human aspect of the job, and that astronauts do in fact get the chance to ‘monkey around’. Take a look at the footage to see why the prank had Tim pouncing for his life.

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