Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has brought attention to a unique instance of space entertainment by sharing a captivating video of Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata playing baseball while floating aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The video, originally posted by Wakata on X (formerly Twitter), shows him pitching, batting, and catching the ball with impressive ease in the microgravity environment of space.
Wakata, who retired from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in 2024 after a distinguished career, shared this space-themed celebration as Major League Baseball (MLB) kicked off its season opener in Japan. During Expedition 39, Wakata made history by becoming the first Japanese commander of the ISS, having spent over 500 days in space across five different missions.
In his post, Wakata humorously captioned the video: “It’s baseball season – the @MLB season opener is kicking off in Japan. During Expedition 68, I played a solo game of baseball. In microgravity, you don’t need a whole team, you can play all of the positions.”
Musk reshared the video, which quickly gained traction online, with fans amazed by Wakata’s extraordinary skills. The video, filmed inside the JAXA module aboard the ISS, has since gone viral, accumulating more than 94.8 million views.
Social media users have expressed a range of reactions, from awe to curiosity. One user joked, “Zero gravity baseball? I’d still somehow strike out.” Another wondered, “How did they get a baseball and glove up there?!” A third user excitedly wrote, “This video makes me want to be an astronaut—space baseball sounds too fun to miss!”