Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Ski the Moon? Fine, but jeez the Lift Tickets?

re: Ski the Moon? Fine, but jeez the Lift Tickets?

I couldn't figure out whether Harrison meant using skis, but what kind of skis would work best on the Moon?

"The dry and damp sand didn't allow for much glide so I walked down to the area that was being wet by the surf. I started to skate along on the sand. It was surprisingly snow-like. I stayed near surf as it receded from the beach, skiing along on the sand that was covered by a thin layer of water.
...
Sand skiing is an amazing workout. Since the glide isn't what you would expect on snow or roller skis, you really have to focus on technique and balance. As when skiing on snow, I could feel myself going fastest when I was able to commit all of my weight to the gliding ski. In addition to needing good technique to move well on the sand, it took a lot of power to maintain momentum.
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One reason that some Hawaiian beaches are so good for skiing is their fine-grained sand. The sand around the Great Lakes is more coarse generally won't provide the same film of water that sits up on the Hawaiian sand."
http://www.crosscountryskier.com/features_no_snow_oct_2002.html

So apparently, you can use normal cross country skis and generally I would think that Lunar dirt should much finer than Hawaii sand. In addition you weigh less so there should less friction and have more mass [with all the gear you are packing] so you have more momentum.

But one would certainly try to improve the ski so it works better in lunar environment {I'm pretty sure some cross country ski maker would eager to make such skis]. I wonder whether the fine dust from a sand storm [in calm days after ward] would be provide a surface that could be skied.

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