NASA says the official match ball for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Trionda, has been taken to the International Space Station (ISS) for experiments studying football dynamics in microgravity. NASA posted that astronauts onboard the ISS recreate an earlier 2019 study using the Adidas-made Trionda to examine how a ball’s balance and centre of mass influence its movement. The agency says the crew tests scenarios intended to show the effects of good versus poor balance. It adds that the results help researchers understand how embedded ball technologies, including match-ball sensors, can affect performance during play.
The sources also describe Trionda’s features as an official FIFA ball developed by Adidas. FIFA’s description links the name “Trionda” to “three waves,” reflecting the first World Cup jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. The ball includes designs and symbols representing the host nations and technological elements intended to improve flight stability and grip, along with a connected-ball motion sensor that can send real-time movement data to match systems for officiating support.
All reports frame the ISS work as an intersection of sports science and space research.
