Science: Moon Bike

A giant pedal for mankind?

It is the future, and American astronauts have again landed on the moon. Emerging from their spacecraft, they perform such familiar chores as setting up a TV camera, placing various scientific instruments around their landing site, and collecting rocks and samples of the dusty lunar soil. Then they return to the ship to prepare for more far-ranging exploration. When the spacecraft's big hatch reopens, the astronauts scoot out, pedaling away as if they were on bicycles.

A bike on the moon? Yes, says M.I.T.

Mechanical Engineer David Gordon Wilson, who...

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