Man's capability for self-locomotion on the moon. II. Summary report. NASA CR-1403.

T h i s document p r e s e n t s the r e s u l t s o f a comprehensive s tudy o f man's s e l f l o c o m o t i v e c a p a b i l i t i e s i n s i m u l a t e d l u n a r g r a v i t y . An i n c l ined-p lane and a g i m b a l v e r t i c a l s i m u l a t o r equipped w i t h t r e a d m i l l s were used t o s i m u l a t e l u n a r g r a v i t y . Man's l ocomot i ve c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and the m e t a b o l i c c o s t s o f wa lk ing , running, and l o p i n g a t v e l o c i t i e s f rom 2 t o 12.8 km/hr were de termined f o r s u b j e c t s i n p r e s s u r i z e d Gemini-4C s u i t s . The r e s u l t s showed t h a t t h e energy c o s t o f locomot ion i n s i m u l a t e d l u n a r g r a v i t y i s c o n s i d e r a b l y l e s s than t h a t i n e a r t h g r a v i t y . Ascending grades caused l a r g e inc reases i n m e t a b o l i c c o s t ove r t h a t o f l e v e l w a l k i n g where t h e magni tude o f t h e c o s t depends on the s i m u l a t i o n techn ique used. I n c r e a s i n g the l o a d c a r r i e d f rom 75 t o 400 e a r t h pounds had a smal l and i n c o n s i s t e n t e f f e c t on m e t a b o l i c cos ts . Changing the smooth, ha rd w a l k i n g s u r f a c e t o sandy s o i l caused a l a r g e i nc rease i n the m e t a b o l i c c o s t a t t he h i g h e r locomot ion r a t e s .