{"id":59115,"date":"2024-05-15T13:54:15","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T13:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/8399bc6a-c593-46c3-ad0f-2723d2a95c53"},"modified":"2024-05-15T14:08:22","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T14:08:22","slug":"a-wall-of-death-on-the-moon-could-help-future-astronauts-prevent-muscle-and-bone-deterioration","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/a-wall-of-death-on-the-moon-could-help-future-astronauts-prevent-muscle-and-bone-deterioration\/","title":{"rendered":"A ‘wall of death’ on the Moon could help future astronauts prevent muscle and bone deterioration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could the classic circus stunt be the answer to helping lunar settlers exercise? <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 15 May 2024 at 13:54 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Scientists researching the effects of low-gravity environments on the human body have suggested that a \u2018wall of death\u2019-like contraption may offer the best way for astronauts to exercise on the Moon.<\/p>

It has long been known that low-gravity environments are bad for the body.<\/p>

When you suddenly weigh 80% less, your muscles and bones are doing a lot less work, and that lack of activity can soon lead to problems including atrophied muscles and osteoporosis.<\/p>

Astronauts on the ISS keep their body in shape with regular exercise. Here, harnesses keep ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s feet firmly on the treadmill in zero gravity. Credit: ESA\/NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
That\u2019s why astronauts on the International Space Station<\/a>, for example, are given a strict exercise regime to follow.<\/p>
NASA\u2019s Artemis III mission<\/a> \u2013 currently scheduled for launch in 2026 \u2013 will see humans returning to the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years, with the aim being \u00a0to eventually set up a permanent, crewed base.<\/p>
$\"Illustration$
Illustration of NASA Artemis astronauts on the lunar South Pole. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
But if a new generation of moonwalkers is going to stay on the lunar surface for months at a time, more effective exercise programmes will need to be devised to keep them in peak condition.<\/p>
Just to complicate matters, in a low-gravity environment your body doesn\u2019t quite function as it normally does.<\/p>
Walking with a standard \u2018pendulum\u2019 gait, for instance, becomes tricky and slow, which means that many standard Earth-based exercise regimes (such as jogging) aren\u2019t really suitable for lunar residents.<\/p>
**Is a wall of death on the Moon the answer?<\/strong><\/h2>** $\"A$
A wall of death enables motorcyclists to carry out seemingly gravity-defying stunts, but could they be vital for humans’ long-term settlement on the Moon? Credit: Anadolu \/ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
A team of Italian scientists led by Alberto E. Minetti at the University of Milan think they may have the answer \u2013 and it looks a lot like something you might have seen at the circus!<\/p>
They hired a 9.5m-diameter wall of death \u2013 one of those large wooden cylinders that motorcyclists ride around the walls of at death-defying speeds \u2013 and used bungee cords to mimic lunar gravity by reducing the bodyweight of test subjects,\u00a0who were then asked to run around the wall.<\/p>
They found that while humans under normal Earth conditions can\u2019t run fast enough to ape motorcyclists\u2019 performance on a wall of death, doing so was not problem for the test subjects.<\/p>
$\"An$
An experiment to deduce whether a wall of death on the Moon could help astronauts receive the requisite exercise in low gravity. Credit: Alberto E. Minetti<\/figcaption><\/figure>
And the centripetal forces generated served effectively as a kind of replacement gravity, enabling their bodies to get the benefits of the exercise just as they would on Earth.<\/p>
Just a few laps twice a day could be enough to stave off the negative health effects of low-gravity living, they say.<\/p>
What\u2019s more, with many of the draft plans for putative lunar settlements featuring round buildings, future Moon-dwellers wouldn\u2019t even need any special equipment, but could simply run around the walls of their dwellings.<\/p>
***Read the full paper at*** ***royalsocietypublishing.org\/doi\/10.1098\/rsos.231906<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n***
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