During a recent announcement regarding NASA astronaut Sunita Williams’ return to Earth, President Donald Trump referred to her as the “woman with wild hair.” His offhand remark came as he addressed questions about the astronauts aboard NASA’s latest mission, joking, “We love you, and we’re coming up to get you. You shouldn’t have been up there so long.”
Trump added with a grin, “I see the woman with the wild hair—good, solid head of hair she’s got. There’s no kidding, there’s no games with her hair.”
While his comments sparked a wave of memes and lighthearted social media reactions, they also drew attention to a curious phenomenon often seen in space missions: why astronauts, particularly those with long hair like Sunita Williams, rarely tie their hair back in microgravity.
The science behind floating hair in space
In a recent live interaction from aboard the spacecraft, Williams was seen frequently pushing back her hair as it floated freely around her head. This led many online observers to ask why she didn’t simply tie it back. The answer lies in the unique environmental conditions astronauts experience in orbit.
In microgravity, hair behaves very differently than it does on Earth. Without gravity pulling it down, hair spreads out evenly in all directions. This means it doesn’t obstruct vision or get in the way in the same way it might on Earth, reducing the necessity of tying it back for practicality.
Airflow, comfort, and cooling
Another consideration is comfort. Astronauts often wear helmets or headgear during various tasks. Leaving the hair untied allows for better air circulation around the scalp, helping to keep the head cool—something that can be compromised when covered by equipment for extended periods.
Fewer tangles, less hassle
On Earth, gravity often causes long hair to tangle, necessitating frequent brushing or tying. In microgravity, this isn’t a concern. Hair floats smoothly and tangles far less frequently, minimizing maintenance and allowing astronauts to spend more time on mission-critical tasks.
The aesthetic—and the fun
For many astronauts, the experience of microgravity is something to embrace, and floating hair is part of that. The sight of hair drifting in zero gravity makes for iconic imagery and highlights the surreal beauty of life aboard a spacecraft. As one astronaut famously said, “No water, no gravity, no problem.”
While Trump’s comments were casual and humorous, they inadvertently spotlighted one of the small but fascinating aspects of human adaptation to space—a place where even something as ordinary as hair behaves in extraordinary ways.