NASA’s '$89B Project Anchor’ that convinced people Earth would lose gravity for 7 seconds debunked
A viral hoax claiming that the Earth will lose all of its gravity for seven seconds has been debunked.
The social media rumor that popped up on the likes of TikTok, Instagram, and X, formerly Twitter, claimed that the world would experience life without gravity for a few seconds this month.
People online argued that this was NASA’s ‘Project Anchor’, which alleged that a top secret document had leaked that warned about this gravity loss, stating it would happen on August 12, 2026.
Naturally, this misinformation spread like wildfire, with many speculating on how much damage seven seconds of gravity loss could do to humanity and the planet.
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Many people have taken to the internet themselves to share their own reactions to it, with one person writing: “Never have I wanted to get to the debunking part so bad lol.”
Another joked: “Insurance companies won't pay because you didn't buy gravity insurance.”
However, as of writing this after August 12, we have not yet experienced an abrupt gravity loss and the world has continued to spin as normal.
According to Newsweek, a NASA spokesperson has addressed the claims, saying: “The Earth will not lose gravity on [Wednesday]. Earth's gravity, or total gravitational force, is determined by its mass. The only way for the Earth to lose gravity would be for the Earth system, the combined mass of its core, mantle, crust, ocean, terrestrial water, and atmosphere, to lose mass.”
What would happen if the Earth lost gravity?
But let’s humor the idea for a moment and imagine what would happen if the world really did lose gravity for just seven seconds.
First off, everything would suddenly become weightless, including people, cars, and even water and dust.
According to AI, you wouldn’t ‘shoot upward rapidly’, but instead ‘initially just float at the same speed and direction you were already moving’.
But that wouldn’t be the biggest issue because the atmosphere would also no longer be held down by gravity, meaning it would start to expand outwards, making air a major issue.
Once gravity came back, everything would fall back to the ground and this is where the real problem lies because everything - people, cars, water, debris - would all come crashing down.
The atmosphere and oceans would also rush back toward the surface, producing powerful winds and violent disturbances.