Why Astronauts Cannot Play 'Pokémon GO' In Space

Every person across the planet with a smartphone and a stable internet connection is raving about Pokémon GO.

Indeed, this augmented reality game has turned into a cultural phenomenon that has sent even the most introverted fans outside the confines of their own comfort zone just to "catch 'em all."

If you've been living under a rock these past few days, here's a primer: Pokémon GO allows iOS and Android users to catch virtual creatures known as Pokémon in different locations, train them and send them off to battles.

The app uses a phone's geolocation or GPS and clock to detect where and when the user is in the game. Based on this data, the app makes Pokémon appear in various locations shown on a map so players could hunt them.

The game has become such a huge hit that players have done crazy things — including wandering into police stations, trespassing and hunting Pokémon alone after dark — just to reach Pokéstops and find one creature.

But while everyone on Earth is celebrating the release of this epic game, six people who are currently floating in a habitable satellite in low orbit cannot play it yet.

That's right: Commander Jeff Williams and his crew at the International Space Station (ISS) won't be able to enjoy the game yet — assuming they're fans of the franchise, too. They would have to return to Earth to play the game.

But why can't anyone play Pokémon GO in space?

The space station moves around Earth at about 17,150 miles per hour. Just imagine hunting a Mewtwo on low orbit while wearing a space suit. Wouldn't that be the ultimate dream come true?

NASA spokesperson Dan Huot tweeted to clarify the situation: although there is a small number of smartphones on the ISS, the crew only uses them for science activities and not for personal use. The smartphones and tablets are not connected to the internet, says Huot.

"They also only have access to apps specifically for the payloads they are intended for," says Huot. Astronauts also cannot download apps like we do here on Earth.

But even if the crew on the ISS get smartphones with good internet connectivity, there would still be another obstacle: remember how we said Pokémon GO makes use of your phone's GPS?

The GPS signal helps track players to find out where they are, but the crew on the ISS does not use the same tracking systems as we have on the ground.

Huot says the space station uses internal GPS data and custom applications in order to figure out its location and position.

However, NASA's headquarters here on Earth aren't excluded from all the fun though. NASA intern Kirsi Kuutti spotted virtual creatures around the Saturn V rockets at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

What's more, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has also turned out to be a gym. How cool is that?