Answer:
a) the astronauts and the station are in free fall towards the center of the Earth
Explanation:
Weightlessness is only a sensation of zero weight, a body experiences when it is in free fall towards the center of the Earth, caused by lack of contact force on such body.
Weightlessness doesn't mean the object has zero actual weight, is just a sensation of no weight due to lack of contact force to produce upward reaction on the object which gives the real sense of ones weight.
Thus, the astronauts experience apparent weightlessness because:
a) the astronauts and the station are in free fall towards the center of the Earth.
