Remember the "golf cart" that the Apollo 14 astronauts used to carry equipment? They hated it because it was hard to pull. I suspect a lunar tricycle would be pretty hard to pedal (especially in a full pressure suit) for the same reasons.
How's this for a simplier idea - put oxygen tanks on the rover and have the astronauts use that whenever they're riding around. That way, they only use their backpack O2 supply when they're doing some activity away from the rover. That should help them stretch their 02 supply considerably. It would require putting some fail-safe O2 connectors and hoses on their suits but that should be possible. It might even be possible to top off the backpack tanks from the rover's supply when they return to the vehicle. After all, the Apollo 12+ astronauts refilled their backpacks when they returned to the LM.
In an emergency, it might be possible to pull some O2 tanks from the rover and carry them as they trek back to the base. There are other consumables that they may also have to be concerned about. For example, I seem to remember reading that the Apollo spacesuits used water evaporation for cooling. The rover would need to have a water supply sufficient for replentishing the suit's drinking and cooling water. You'd also need to think about the backpack's battery supply and other factors. Still, I think it's doable.
Space/Science » in reply to I wonder if this might be a contingency that Lunar explorers may adopt?
There may be a simplier idea
The whole thread (43 posts)
- I wonder if this might be a contingency that Lunar explorers may adopt?
- Re: Rescue
- Four Lunar explorers
- a layman's (probably worthless) observation
- There may be a simplier idea
- Why would an electric powered golf cart break down?