Astronauts Could Run Round ‘Wall of Death’ to Keep Fit on Moon
hubie writes:
Researchers suggest cylinder to prevent astronauts losing muscle mass in low gravity environment:
As humans prepare to return to the moon after an absence of more than half a century, researchers have hit on a radical approach to keeping astronauts fit as they potter around the ball of rock.
To prevent lunar explorers from becoming weak and feeble in the low gravity environment, scientists suggest astronauts go for a run. But, this being space, it's not just any kind of run - researchers have advised astronauts run several times a day around a "lunar Wall of Death".
Using a rented Wall of Death - a giant wooden cylinder used by motorcycle stunt performers in their gravity-defying fairground act - a 36m-high telescopic crane, and some bungee cords, researchers showed it was possible for a human to run fast enough in lunar gravity not only to remain on the wall, but to generate sufficient lateral force to combat bone and muscle wasting.
"I'm amazed that nobody had the idea before," said Alberto Minetti, professor of physiology at the University of Milan. "This could be a convenient way to train on the moon." And easier than building a spinning moon base that generates the force, like the giant wheel of Space Station One in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
[...] The hostile lunar environment presents several challenges, from ensuring astronauts have air, food and water to being well protected against space radiation. But without normal gravity to work against, astronauts lose bone and muscle mass, along with the fine nervous system control needed for coordinated movements, making measures to combat "deconditioning" a priority.
[...] To test the idea, two researchers ran around a 10m-wide Wall of Death while attached to a bungee cord suspended from the crane. The set-up emulated lunar gravity by taking five-sixths off their body weight. Combined with treadmill data, the scientists conclude that running for a couple of minutes at the start and end of each day, should generate enough lateral force, or "artificial gravity" to keep bones and muscles strong and maintain good nervous system control.
Rather than transporting an actual Wall of Death to the moon, astronauts could be housed in circular habitats, allowing them to run around the walls of their off-world homes, the team write in Royal Society Open Science.
Journal Reference:
Minetti Alberto E., Luciano Francesco, Natalucci Valentina and Pavei Gaspare 2024 Horizontal running inside circular walls of Moon settlements: a comprehensive countermeasure for low-gravity deconditioning? R. Soc. Open Sci. 11231906 http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231906
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