How fast could the average person whose in peak physical shape run on the moon, without the limits of current technology? I mean suit, but like a wetsuit with only a small helmet, and athletic shoes.

  • SkybreakerEngineer@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Check out the video of Apollo astronauts trying it out. Turns out, a normal running gait isn’t a great idea, it’s better to bunny hop.

    • GluWu@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      They figured that out because the suits are so bulky and pressurized on the inside. Every joint is either a hard rotation point or, at the knees and elbows, essentially a bendy tube. When you inflate that tube to keep the meat computer inside alive, it gets harder to bend and acts like a spring. So the hop came from bouncing on the legs of the suits like two big springs. They fell over a lot.

    • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Although I do wonder what would change if they didn’t have the bulky suits and ran during a parabolic flight simulating lunar gravity.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        The suspension phase would be higher and longer.

        Which is why the bunny hop is more natural.

        Keep in mind hoping with enough force that your feet rises .45 meters (about a foot and a half), which is about average for a statist high jump on earth equates to about 3 meters on the moon. You’d land with the same force as on earth… but it takes much longer to get back down.

        The other problem with running is stopping. You get going too fast, build up too much speed and you suddenly need more space to stop- or you fall on your face.

        Bunny hopping is more controlled… and the entire world was watching.

        Best not to goof off too much. Alan Sheherd…. im talking to you.

      • GregorGizeh@lemmy.zip
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        10 months ago

        There is literally a video out there of Usain Bolt racing a couple scientists I think, aboard one of those zero grav planes.