Bouncing for the Moon

The "Movement in low gravity environments" (MoLo) programme simulates lunar gravity – called hypogravity - on Earth to investigate how human bodies’ adapt and a team of space medicine experts at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, is investigating how bouncing on the Moon could help maintain and even grow healthy bones and muscles.

The programme had several phases, starting with a refurbished ventilation shaft in ESA’s ground based facility “Locomotion On Other Planets” in Milan, Italy. A 17-metres pole was fitted with a bungee rope, allowing a person to do vertical jumps as high as six metres in simulated lunar gravity, and for the team to investigate the movement and its biomechanics.