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Astrojax

Astrojax

Item Astrojax Price $14.95
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As part of NASA's Toys in Space program, astronauts on the International Space Station played with a set of Astrojax in 2002 [watch the video - 2.5mb QuickTime movie]. Asked whether Astojax works in space, astronaut Peggy Ann Whitson said: "Astrojax are actually a lot of fun here in space too" and went on demonstrating the toy. And it worked indeed! It kept spinning even after it was let go and floated beautifully through space.

Like most great ideas, Astrojax actually seems surprisingly simple: Three weighted foam balls attached by a piece of string with the middle ball freely moving. Yet the construction of Astrojax is very sophisticated. Each ball has a precision-machined metal weight inside the soft, protective foam mantel to provide maximum performance and smooth action while playing. The fast spinning motion of the balls is based on the physical principles of rotational dynamics.

Each ball in the Astrojax features two bright LEDs that create dazzling light patterns when you play. Through an elegant push button control, the LED's can be switched on and set to either continuous mode or disco mode.

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