Moon buggy?

Question

If the moon has a 3rd of the gravity of earth how come the dust falling off the moon buggy`s wheel`s did`nt make a huge dust cloud

Answer 1

This is a very good question, and it is something that the people who say we never went to the Moon don't have a proper answer for.
As some people have mentioned, the pull of gravity on the Moon is only 1/6 of that on Earth. This means that if the Moon had an atmosphere, not only would the wheels have stirred up great clouds of dust - just like in "The Dukes of Hazzard" and any number of other films and TV programmes - but in the lower gravity the dust would have stayed in the air much longer than it would on Earth.
What is actually seen is that the surface dust is thrown up by the rover's wheels and it then follows a parabola and comes back down again. There are no air particles to keep it up. No clouds. No suspension in any air. Not in any still photo nor any frame of film. This is pretty conclusive proof that the rover was being driven in a vacuum, and there is nowhere on Earth where there is a vacuum chamber big enough to build a film set to mock up the surface of the Moon. After all, no-one has disputed that the rover was actually being driven, (i.e. it wasn't a model) as you can see the astronauts getting on board.
Incidentally, the test rovers that they practised with on Earth had to be built to operate under Earth gravity. On Earth, most cars carry about half of their own weight; the rovers could carry twice their own weight. Also, they didn't have inflated tyres, but wire mesh wheels, which is why the adverts from a manufacturer "which made the first tyre on the Moon" is not really accurate.

Answer 2

The Moon does not have 1/3 of Earth's gravity -- it has even less, 1/6 of a gee.

The reason dust hangs in the air on Earth is because Earth has a thick atmosphere. There is no atmosphere on the Moon, so there is nothing to support the dust, and it falls just as fast as a large rock would.

Answer 3

The Moon's gravity at the surface is one sixth of the Earth's. Dust clouds on Earth last a long time because the dust particles are held up by the air. On the Moon, with no atmosphere, if you kick up a dust cloud, it disappears almost instantly. There's nothing to keep the dust particles aloft.

Answer 4

If there had been a dust cloud, that would mean there was an atmosphere.

So, if there were a dust cloud, then you'd know it wasn't the moon.

What kind of crazy set would they have to build to make the dust drop straight down here on earth?

Answer 5

Like the other guys said, without air slowing the dust it would drop straight down.

You could drop a brick and at the same time turn over a plate of flour and they would hit the ground at the same time because of the vacuum.

Answer 6

Cos there was no air friction. They did a test with a hammer and a feather, dropping them at the same time and they hit the floor at the same time. On the moon everything falls instantly, slower than here but instantly.

(*Conspirational whisper*)Plus they never got to the moon.

Answer 7

because it didn't go as deep into the dirt, since it wasn't as heavy, and it wasn't moving very fast. plus, there wasn't any wind to blow it around. The moon buggy was basically the equivalent of a rolling pin on a pile of flour. it just flattened things down

Answer 8

Because there was no wind that day.

Answer 9

there is no air to hold it in suspension

Answer 10

kk