In his own words: Apollo 12 Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean talks back to Mission Control in this air-to-ground voice transcription . . .
"You know the funny thing about moving around on the lunar surface, you put on this pressurized suit we wear, and you try to do it on Earth, with even close to the weight you have on your back on the Moon and get tired very rapidly from the walking, and you don't have to walk over, you know, let's say 200 or 300 yards, and you're ready for a rest. But, on the Moon, in the light gravity with the same suit on and the same weight, your legs never seem to get tired. I guess when you run up the side of a steep slope, you could do it, but just running around on level ground, you assume some kind of normal pace, and you're able to go for long distances without your legs getting tired.
The suit doesn't always want to bend like you want to bend. For example, it bends pretty well in the knee, and it bends pretty well in the ankles, but it doesn't want to bend up near the thigh, the top of the thigh. So what happens is you tend to run with straight legs, land flat-footed, and then push off on your toes. And you think to yourself, 'Well, I'm going to tire out my calves pretty soon because I'm not used to this sort of thing,' but apparently the force it takes to push off on your toes on the Moon is much less than you just have when you walk or run on Earth, so your legs just don't seem to tire . . ."
Original NASA transcripts like this have helped us gain an understanding of just what it feels like to wear a spacesuit. We're reading plenty of them, pulling together information for our upcoming Suited for Space exhibition, about the history and evolution of spacesuits. The national tour of the exhibition begins in March 2011.
I wonder why are they focusing on building Space suits in which you can run. We haven't been able to land a man except on moon, what's the point in landing again and running on moon.
Mars hasn't experienced a man before and I feel these Astro-suits should concentrate making Astronauts suits more equipped for other Spatial adventures.
Posted by: Rakesh Narang | January 23, 2012 at 05:53 AM
This sounds like an interesting exhibit. I have always been amazed with space suits and how they work. I would love for earth to like the moon when I am walking up long hills or slopes.
I got a chance to see space related exhibits in Huntsville that were fantastic.
My mother-in-law lives in Hyde Park. This will definitely on the to-do list on my next visit.
Posted by: Becky Smith | March 16, 2011 at 01:14 AM
I am eager to hear more about this exhibition, as I have a strong interest in the history of space suits. I'll head for the Museum of Science and Industry as soon as the exhibition opens in March.
Posted by: Bill Higgins | January 17, 2011 at 01:10 PM