How high do we jump on the Moon? Should we build architecture with steps or should we support different ways of moving, e.g. climbing? The reduced gravity will lead to a loss of muscular mass and stiffness of the legs, negatively affecting a person's balance: Yes, we can climb, but we can also easily lose our balance and trip up against the surrounding architecture. To avoid all of this, we need to better understand and address human walking behavior and balance on the Moon and Mars in the design already. A number of studies already exist on simulation of hypogravity locomotion, but how we can use results from hypogravity simulation studies to inform the architectural design of Moon or Mars habitats? This paper addresses how measurements from hypogravity locomotion studies can inform the architectural design of planetary habitats. To better understand human walking behavior, one key factor to consider that is addressed here for the first time is the effect of deconditioning and the countermeasures applied to the subject to decrease this deconditioning. Once these factors are under control, the data needed for defining the interior design are kinematic variables of joints or body segments, such as speed, step extent, direction of movement, sight line, variation of altitude, typology of walk, posture, and balance. Finally, the data need to be communicated in an interdisciplinary manner using a common language between the physiological and design fields. The ideal research methodology is presented here, which investigates how to measure and share variables of gait and body movement in order to apply the results to the design of Moon and Mars architectures.
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