A closer look
Re-entering Earth’s atmosphere might be a fiery nightmare, but driving home from the airport is significantly more dangerous for an astronaut. After months of floating in zero gravity, the human brain essentially forgets how physics work. Astronauts suffer from intense vestibular disorientation—meaning their inner ear has no idea which way is up or how to judge distance and speed. NASA specifically grounds them from operating a motor vehicle until they relearn that dropping their keys means they actually fall to the floor.
