Posted by davrecon-3 on
URL: https://www.shado-forum.com/Let-s-talk-GRAVITY-tp1505098p1505131.html


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Samantha Peterson" <[hidden email]>
>

> >
> > Okay...here's another topic for discussion: By the time UFO started
> > shooting, didn't they know that there was no gravity on the moon?
>

> > but, it's almost annoying in scenes like those dramatic shots in
> > "Survival" where Foster and the alien are out on the lunar surface.
> > Especially, that part where they are using a cable to cross a
> > ravine...something totally unnecessary when one or two bounces and the
> > lack of gravity would have easily gotten them across it far faster than
> > the cable trick.
>


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Well, "no gravity" is not quite the word.
You've got 5.4 ft/sec^2 on the moon vs. 32.2 on the Earth.

The reason you might still need a cable to cross a ravine like that is
given the exhausted condition of the men out there.

No 1. they are all beat up from their ordeal. The ravine might be too
wide to leap it in their depleted conditions, and, they are wearing heavy
space suits. These suits can raise their weights back up by a hundred pounds
or so, each. Plus the fact that they now have a disproportionate amount of
mass momentum compared to the weight they are dealing with, if they make a
bad landing after trying to jump the ravine, they will crack their suits or
break their bones or something like that.

The gravity/mass discrepency can make an EVA a very physically taxing
exertion when done for any length of time. Most of the Apollo astronauts
complained about how exhausting the lunar walking ordeal was, and many
suffered from overheating and dehydration from the effort. Even space
walking astronauts in zero gee complained on extreme overexertion during
their activities.

Also, any pressurised suit, by their nature, are very stiff and
inflexible at the joints when under pressure. Fighting against the suit is
very physically demanding. They've gotten better over time, but even
nowadays, 20 years after the show's timeline, they are still no walk in the
park.

I liked that episode very much. Despite many of the weaknesses of the
series and that particular episode, they did manage to convey some of the
hardships of lunar surface operation pretty well on some points; like the
sweating and condensation on the helmet visors, the astronausts heavy
breathing, and the conduction of sound by contact thru the helmets in the
end.

One little jewel for the nitpickers out there is when Foster staggers
up against a huge rock formation, you can see the whole thing move under his
weight. Styrofoam bedrock on the moon....who would imagine?

Dave H.