Why when you watch someone walking on the moon...?

Question

do the walk in slow motion, if the gravity is less than what it is here on Earth wouldn't the move quicker and jump higher and faster, coming back down to the floor slower? and when the moon buggy is moving at speed wouldn't the fact that because there is less gravity holding them down wouldn't they bounce higher? Anyone know?

Im not saying it was a hoax, because I belive people have been there.. ie rock samples ect.

Answer 1

The thing about lower gravity is that it also makes stopping slower. If the astronauts try stopping or changing direction quickly, they fall over. That's in addition to the fact that they were in thick pressurized suits with gloves like ski boots.

Answer 2

I remember seeing old science fiction shows that always showed people walking on the Moon is slow motion, which was probably their clumsy way of trying to make it look like low gravity, and I remember being so surprised that the real astronauts were NOT moving in slow motion as I watched the Apollo missions on TV. So I don't know why you think they are moving is slow motion in the same videos where I was see them moving fast.

But you are right that they will fall much more slowly. See the source, which is a video clip from Apollo 16. The reason they don't jump higher is the bulky and heavy suits, which weigh 180 pounds on Earth (but only 30 pounds on the Moon). The moon buggy doesn't bounce higher because it drove slowly enough over the bumps. It wasn't a very fast car, with a top speed of 8 MPH.

Answer 3

Many of the previous answerers make good, cogent points about the difference in gravity. The gravitational acceleration on the moon is about 1/6 that of the Earth, so things will fall more slowly, even in the vacuum of the moon.

But one thing we all have to remember is that, even though the astronauts and their equipment **weighed** less when on the Moon, due to the lower gravitational acceleration, they were still humping around the same **MASS** as on the Earth. And the force required to move an object does not depend on weight, but the mass of the object!

Look at some basic equations from Newtonian physics:

Force (F) = mass (m) x acceleration (a), so
a = F/m

The equation for gravity is:

Gravitational Force = the Universal Constant of Gravity (G)multiplied by the product of the masses of the two objects (M1 * M2) divided by the square of the distance (r²) between the centers of gravity of the two objects:

F = G(M1*M2)/r²

Notice that there is no **weight** factor here, just MASS. And mass doesn't change -- it is an intrinsic property of matter! A 200-kg mass of lead would require exactly the same amount of force to move it on the Moon as it would on the Earth, or on Mars, or Jupiter, even though the *weight* you measured of that lump of lead would be different on each of those planets.

So, if you have a hard time jumping with a 50 kilogram mass (which would weigh ~110 pounds on Earth) on your back, you will have the same problem with that same 50 kg mass on the moon, even if the weight is lower (~18 pounds)! The problem is the FORCE required to accelerate the mass, which does not change!

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On a sidebar, I recall interviews with the lunar astronauts where they discussed the funky hopping motion they used on the moon. IIRC, they discovered during practice, trial, and error, that the hopping motion was the most efficient, least physically taxing method of getting around on foot while wearing the bulky, heavy, stiff pressure suits.

Answer 4

The lower gravity means that things fall more slowly. Things aren't really moving in slow motion. That only relates to how fast objects drop. IOW, the forward motion of the moon buggies is about the same as it would be here on earth. But the up and down frequency of bumps is slower. Astronauts often seem to move forward pretty quickly, but probably not as fast as they could. You really want to be careful and try not to fall down.

Also, watch the dust. It is a fine talc-like material which would billow up in clouds and float around if it was disturbed on earth. On the moon, though, with no air, it falls at the same speed as everything else. It gets kicked up and almost immediately disappears. For those who say it never happened, explain that.

Reg, that's a good point too. It's a little bit like trying to move in waist deep water, considering only the buoyancy and discounting the resistance of the water, if you can imagine that. All that extra weight they carry probably helps.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

I remember clearly the day they landed on the moon, and how my dad, dragged me from 'my pit' early in the morning to watch the TV. I'd just finished school for good, and it was the Summer Holidays... I wasn't impressed.

Then this program I watched recently seemed to underline what, I was thinking at that time about the Moon landing, although it seemed a stupid discussion to have at the time, and as a girl like " what did I know"......

Firstly, why were there NO stars in the heavens ??? it was a clear 'dark' backdrop right to the edge of the horizon.

Then, where did the Earth go ? if you can see the Moon from Earth why not visa versa ?? (the landing site wasn't on the 'dark side of the Moon).

How come, if the Sun was still in the heavens, the shadows that the crew cast, were not right, the landing craft shadow, was in a different direction, to that of Buzz Aldwin (Astronaut) when he moved ?

The 'dust' disturbed by their feet when walking 'floated' into the air, then settled very quickly down again (no gravity), so dust particals, wouldn't behave like this, they would have kept 'floating' for longer.

There was an issue about the 'flag' and whether that moved, but can't remember what that was. And the 'tracks' left by the Moon Buggy, and the speed of the M.B, were not consistant with the moon surface and terrain.

There were also limited shots by the v.camera, no 360 degree shots, only hand held video shots of each other, and the ones from the M.B down onto the surface. If each Astronaut held a V.C why was this ?, surely it would have been natural to show as much as possible ?

I still try and believe that we did go to the Moon, but all these theories, somehow all add to doubt as to whether it was after all a hoax !!

a friend

calling Earth to Moon....have a great Christmas x

Answer 7

It's notoriously difficult to walk in space suits, so they have to sort of hop around, but they leave the ground when they hop and sort of float, because of lower gravity it takes them longer for their feet to get back on the ground.
As for the buggys, there is less gravity on the Moon, so therefore, less traction. The buggy doesn't stick to the Lunar surface as well as it would on a road down here on Earth. So the tyres have difficulty gripping the surface and the buggy cannot move as fast.

Answer 8

The fact that there is less gravity means they have less control of their legs. The force they use while walking on earth is greater because of the gravitational pull of the earth, meaning their steps are heavier. The weight of the moon buggy has been adjusted to the gravitational pull of the moon so it pretty much works as it would on earth.

Answer 9

Yes, and we've seen that they move generally by "hopping" around. When they fall, they fall slower than they do on Earth. And, the lunar rover wasn't exactly a high-speed vehicle (I think Apollo 15 set the land speed record on the moon, at 17MPH, if memory serves.) On Apollo 17, I remember that one astronaut was walking behind the rover because tools kept bouncing off; and he had to pick them up.

Answer 10

Since the gravity is so low, if you moved fast, even swinging an arm, the rest of you would whirl around. Your arm has mass and it would draw the rest of you along where on earth you automatically brace against the movement. On the moon you could not brace against it since there is nothing to brace against. Your feet would come off the ground. So everyone moved more slowly.