In a scenario of new space missions to send human beings to Moonresearchers found an unusual solution to make them maintain their physical conditioning outside the gravity of the Earth. They propose the use of a kind of cylinder, where astronauts can run horizontally, like the “wall of death” in circus attractions.
Interest in lunar exploration has grown again. The United States Aerospace Agency’s Artemis campaign (NASA), for example, one of its objectives is to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon as a way of boosting travel to Mars. Other countries like China It is Japan also developed missions to reach the satellite.
Lack of or decreased severity deteriorates cardiorespiratory health, the skeletal and muscular system, and neural control of posture and movement. But there is still no consensus on the most efficient exercise to prevent the reduction of physical fitness on the Moon.
Running on the “wall of death” offers the advantage of training the entire body, instead of just a certain group of muscles. When running inside the walls of the cylinder, the individual creates a type of artificial gravity based on their acceleration in rotational movement.
In the attractions, motorcycles travel horizontally and at high speed in cylinders 5 meters high and 10 meters in diameter. On Earth, you need greater speed to stay horizontal without falling, which makes the exercise unfeasible. But, on the Moon, where gravity is lower, running is enough to stay upright.
To test the idea, the researchers called two participants, a man and a woman, to perform the exercise. Since the gravity on Earth is greater, they connected the two to a rope to compensate for the greater gravity on Earth. Without this equipment it would not be possible to run the race.
A ramp allowed participants to accelerate and then run vertically in relation to the wall.
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With renewed interest in missions to the Moon, research is looking at a new possible solution to maintain astronauts’ physical strength
Researchers were able to demonstrate for the first time that humans can safely run horizontally in low-gravity conditions.
On lunar soil, exercise would promote healthy muscles, bones and the cardiorespiratory system. Furthermore, the dynamics of the cylinder race even on the Moon are close to those on Earth. The results obtained were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science on Wednesday the 1st.
“It seems surprisingly convenient that locomotion impractical on Earth could generate a higher artificial gravity, and thus a more intense training stimulus, on the Moon,” says the article.
Read the full study in the magazine Royal Society Open Science.
Tags: Astronauts run wall death maintain physical fitness Moon understand
