Media release

From: The Royal Society

Horizontal running inside circular walls of Moon settlements: a comprehensive countermeasure for low-gravity deconditioning?

Royal Society Open Science

Humans cannot run horizontally on the vertical wall inside a 10-m diameter cylinder on Earth, but this can be done on the Moon due to 1/6 of terrestrial gravity, as demonstrated by emulated low gravity experiments with a rented fairground attraction. The high running speed, necessary to remain attached to the wall, laterally generates a much higher artificial gravity, thus producing enough muscle effort and foot impacts with the (vertical) ground as to be considered a viable countermeasure for Lunar settlement inhabitants of long-lasting missions of the next Artemis Program, who will otherwise face a detrimental musculo-skeletal-cardiovascular and neuromotor deconditioning.

• Use the force – An out-of-this-world workout could keep astronauts fit in space and you can practice here on Earth (as long as you have access to a ‘Wall of Death’ and some bungee cord). Researchers ran horizontally around the circus sideshow’s cylindrical walls, whilst held by bungee cords to mimic the Moon’s gravity. The results suggest it would be possible to recreate Earth-like forces needed to maintain cardiovascular and motor fitness in space. [Images and video available here - https://we.tl/t-FU654wXHf5] Royal Society Open Science.