# Apollo missions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 9, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591 "2020-10-09T20:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![breakneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e99b99/32.png) [@breakneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breakneck)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/1 "2020-10-09T20:24:57Z")
If the gravity on the moon is 6 times less it is on earth should have astonauts been able to jump six times as high as the could on earth ? or leap 6 times as far as they could on earth because their muscles are condition for a gravity 6 times as strong? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/2 "2020-10-09T20:55:11Z")
If the Apollo Astronauts had been wearing sports kit, and standing inside a large gymnasium on the Moon with a roof that was high enough, then yes, they could have jumped around six times as high, or as far, as normal. But they were wearing restrictive Apollo spacesuits and oxygen tanks, which more than doubled their effective weight, so they could only jump a little over twice their normal distance. Neil Armstrong tried out the effect of low gravity by jumping from the Lunar surface to the third step of the lunar module ladder; a distance of five or six feet. He could manage this jump, despite the fact that the spacesuit knees were notoriously stiff, but he recommended that they didn’t do this again, and they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/3 "2020-10-09T20:56:17Z")
“I did some fairly high jumps,” said Armstrong, “and found that there was a tendency to tip over backward on a high jump. One time I came close to falling and decided that was enough of that” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/4 "2020-10-09T21:48:26Z")
Another reason they didn’t try any of this is that falling and puncturing the suit on a rock would be a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![awahl1138](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@awahl1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awahl1138)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/5 "2020-10-10T10:33:01Z")
On Apollo 16 John Young and Charlie Duke had an impromptu “Lunar Olympics”, and Duke jumped high and landed… right on his backpack, and he was scared for his life because he thought he’d have damaged something structurally. He was OK, but it’s a good illustration that it pays to be cautious Although on Apollo 14 Alan Shepard hit a golf ball and it went very far so yes, obviously lower gravity affects the motion of things ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/6 "2020-10-10T10:37:07Z")
> [@awahl1138](#): > > Although on Apollo 14 Alan Shepard hit a golf ball and it went very far so yes, obviously lower gravity affects the motion of things - That’s also due to a lack of air resistance. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/7 "2020-10-10T16:26:27Z")
Actually, under normal Earthly conditions, a golf ball actually goes further than it would in a vacuum. The spin of the ball and the dimples manage to produce a small amount of lift as it moves through the air. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/8 "2020-10-10T16:51:26Z")
Would that be more than the drag that is imparted by generating that lift? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/9 "2020-10-10T17:50:18Z")
Mythbusters did that. They got golf balls without dimples and the dimpled ones went significantly farther. I don’t remember the numbers but I think it was around 30%. They also covered a car with clay, put scaled up dimples in the clay and got better gas mileage. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/10 "2020-10-10T17:56:42Z")
Yeah, but the non-dimpled ones were still subject to drag. I doubt that they had the capability of testing a golf shot in a vacuum. The question is, does the lift they get from their aerodynamics make up for the drag of passing through an atmosphere in the first place. I don’t see how it could. Maybe if you hit it at a pretty low angle, then the lift will put it on a higher trajectory and keep it from landing sooner, and help it to clear obstacles. But, if two balls were fired at the same velocity, under the same gravity, both at 45 degrees to the horizon, I don’t see how the one subject to air resistance could possibly go further. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/11 "2020-10-10T17:59:46Z")
> **[How do dimples in golf balls affect their flight?](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-dimples-in-golf-ba/)** > > Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/12 "2020-10-10T18:13:29Z")
It’s hard to hit golf balls in a vacuum, but it’s easy to measure a golf ball’s initial velocity, and to calculate from that how far it would go, in a vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/13 "2020-10-10T18:59:02Z")
Okay, and that explains that dimpled balls go further than smooth balls, mostly by reducing drag and partially by creating lift. Does not say anything about how they would fare in a vacuum. Dimpling the ball reduces drag by half, having no air resistance at all would decrease even further. > [@Chronos](#): > > It’s hard to hit golf balls in a vacuum, but it’s easy to measure a golf ball’s initial velocity, and to calculate from that how far it would go, in a vacuum. And has this been done? So, a tiny bit of research. No, that I can find, no one has done this experiment. However, serious golfers do take atmospheric conditions into account. Temperature, humidity, and altitude, so the question is actually pretty well answered. > **[The Effect of Altitude on Golf Ball Aerodynamics | Titleist](https://www.titleist.com/teamtitleist/b/tourblog/posts/the-effect-of-altitude-golf-ball-aerodynamics)** > > If you've ever played golf on higher altitude courses like ones in Denver, Jackson Hole or Reno, you probably noticed that you were seeing some added distance to your game. ... > [@](#): > > - The golf ball flies further in high altitudes mainly due to the change in air density, which decreases as elevation increases. Thinner air exerts less drag force on the ball. The ball moves more easily through the air and doesn’t slow down as quickly as it flies, resulting in greater distance. So, yes, air resistance _does_ decrease the distance, so a golf ball in vacuum _would_ travel further. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/14 "2020-10-10T19:03:11Z")
I’ve always wondered just how much thrust it would take to put an astronaut in an EVA suit into lunar orbit. Could a spring-loaded catapult do it? Assuming their command module had the maneuvering abilities for the rendezvous, could the next people on the moon forgo the need for an ascent stage? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/15 "2020-10-10T19:17:08Z")
You are still pushing nearly 4000 mph to orbit the Moon. Be one hell of a catapult, and you’re not going to survive. OTOH, using a maglev type of accelerator track would be much more viable. You don’t have to provide the vacuum, it’s already there. You can accelerate up to the necessary speed and then basically just drift off. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/16 "2020-10-10T19:42:58Z")
I think it was Clarke who noted one of the significant dangers of being on the moon: if you are on the edge of a 200’ cliff, you might be lulled by the low gravity into thinking you could just jump safely to the plain below, but it would actually be like falling nearly forty feet (no wind resistance), which can easily be fatal. And there is no way to change your position on the way down, so if you start off with a tumble, that is how you will land. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/17 "2020-10-11T02:36:22Z")
Once that catapult, or the launch track, has done its work, the payload (in this case, an astronaut) enters an elliptical orbit which will bring him back to the same position and velocity. The moon will have rotated just a bit, so he won’t collide with the catapult. Unless your launch trajectory is perfectly horizontal, chances are that elliptical path is going to intersect the moon. You need some way of altering your trajectory (a rocket pack of some sort) after launch, or you will come back to where you started. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2020, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/18 "2020-10-11T03:05:37Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Okay, and that explains that dimpled balls go further than smooth balls, mostly by reducing drag and partially by creating lift. Another take on dimpling…this Lexus commercial. [![](https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/363933486-9260737061811c3b32767083687abdde3074521f898e56a51ad98a826a026cd1-d?f=webp "Lexus - DIMPLES") ](https://vimeo.com/52734657) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2020, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/19 "2020-10-11T12:40:58Z")
> [@awahl1138](#): > > lthough on Apollo 14 Alan Shepard hit a golf ball and it went very far so yes, obviously lower gravity affects the motion of things > [@running\_coach](#): > > That’s also due to a lack of air resistance. That’s one of my Unca Walt memories. After Shepherd hit the ball, CBS’ color man (Slayton?) commented, “Yanno, with no air, the ball couldn’t hook or slice – it’s guaranteed to fly straight.” Cronkite replied, “I’d bet I’d make it slice.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2020, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591/20 "2020-10-11T13:00:02Z")
True, you need some additional thrust after the catapult, to put you into an orbit that doesn’t intersect the surface. But it wouldn’t need to be very much additional thrust, with no atmosphere to deal with. And in case anyone’s wondering, on Mars’ smaller moon Deimos, an Olympic athlete in a sufficiently non-restrictive suit could probably jump into orbit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apollo-missions/922591.md?page=2)