| < Fun > |
| Back in the stone age of space flight (1973), NASA astronauts demonstrated how to run without gravity on skylab, the first US space station (I was not able to find out if it was Pete Conrad or Owen Garriott running in that video). The skylab crew misused the lockers lining the 20 m long circumference of the station as parcours, and it really was possible to run, streching the legs rhythmically not against Earthen gravity, but against the centrifugal force produced during running. In our days, not even the much larger International Space Station ISS offers a circular arena spacious enough for such a feat. |
| All you can do as your physical exercise on the ISS is to "run" on a treadmill you are fixed to with elastic bands. While the benefit for your muscles and bones might be the same, it is much less fun. On my station, however, a circular parcours with 8 m diameter should be possible. It may be laid out in one of the central balloons no longer in use for the growth of plants. During this type of running, the middle part of your body will circle around the centre of the balloon at about 3 m distance (r). |
| At a speed v of 19.5 km/h (5.42 m/s), this circular movement will compel you to work against the acceleration a (remember: a = v2 / r) 5.422/3 = 9.8 m/s2 (i.e. similar to gravity experienced on the surface of the Earth). The faster you run, the "heavier" you will get. Maybe you will notice that your feet (at a longer distance) feel heavier than your head (at a shorter distance from the centre). In any case it will be more entertaining than the gym on the ISS. At least the skylab crew 40 years ago had a lot of fun. |
| MB 8/13 |
| next: A new Garden of Eden? back to: Soil overview |
