WOTM-GrabKneelFallRise

Grabbing, Kneeling, Falling, Getting Up

Copyright © 2008 by the Editors of Working on the Moon.
Last revised 8 June 2008.

1. Summary

2. Lessons

3. Introduction

The A11-14 crews were careful to avoid contact with the ground by kneeling or falling, primarily to keep the suits clean. They weren't always successful and, after Apollo 12, measures were taken to clean the suits before returning to the cabin. In addition, from Apollo 15 onward, once back in the cabin the crews encased the suit legs in jettison bags to isolated those dirtiest parts of the suits from the cabin.

The A15 crew started out trying to keep clean, but found that they were going to get dirty no matter what they did. Rocks too big for the tongs had to be picked up and dropped pieces of equipment had to be retrieved. Falls were inevitable. In the interest of making best use of their time, the Apollo 15 crew became more casual about kneeling and falling, except when working on slopes. The A16 and A17 crews threw themselves into the work except on the steepest slopes or when working around sizeable rocks.

Because control of dust is going to be a far more important consideration in long-duration lunar stays than it was during the brief Apollo visits, on-going assessments should be made of the relative merits of - and emphasis on - (1) limiting dust accumulation on the suits through the use of canes, grabbing tools, etc., (2) suit cleaning prior to re-entry into shirtsleeve environments, and (3) use of dust locks for stowage, maintainance, and repair. Procedures and equipment will undoubtedly be modified as further experience is gained.

4. Grabbing; and Reaching Low

The LM crews had scoops and tongs for use in picking up small rocks. The tongs, in particular, could also be used for grabbing dropped sample bags and other small, dropped objects. If, however, a rock or dropped object was too large for the scoops or tongs, one method of picking something up off the ground was so bend a knee enough that the astronaut could get the object in his hand and then rise without having touched a knee to the ground. If the Rover, part of the LM, or a long-enough tool - such as the Universal Handling Tool (UHT), a scoop, or a geology rake - was available it could be used as a support or prop. Taking the support in one hand, he could put his opposite leg out to the side, bend that knee, and get low enough for a grab. Rising with the help of the support was relatively easy. If no support was available, it was possible to do a dynamic grab, bobbing down with one knee and making the grab before the internal pressure of the suit started to straighten the bent knee. With practice, some of the astronauts got fairly good at doing dynamic grabs, particularly John Young who, prior to Apollo 16, had gained some proficiency in the 1/6th-g airplane. Even Young sometimes had to make more than one attempt at a grab. Loss of balance and falling was always a possibility.

The following table is not exhaustive. The included examples generally have good TV coverage and demonstrate of variety of techniques used on the Moon - some more successfully than others.

Ground Elasped Time (hh:mm:ss)	Type or Circumstance	Notes






Apollo 15
120:52:24	Using the Rover support	Dave leans on the front of the Rover to lock the high-gain mast in place.
122:55:50	Using the scoop to lift an end of the dropped tongs into reach	Dave dropped his tongs earlier and, rather than try a dynamic grab or go to his knees, he has Jim lift one end of the tongs with the scoop. With his knees bent, Dave gets low eough to grab the tongs.
122:56:48	Deeply bent knee with the other leg out to the side as a counterweight	Dave gets his left leg out to the side and then bends his right knee almost to 90 degrees to get a sample bag low enough for Jim to pour in some soil from the scoop. At 122:57:06, Dave moves downhill till he is level with Jim and doesn't have to bend his knees as much to get the sample bag in position.
124:43:20	Dynamic grab	Dave sticks his left leg behind him with his right knee flexed. He then bobs down till his left knee is almost to the ground and grabs the heat flow probe that was on the top of the HFE.
124:46:07	Using the UHT as a prop	Dave reaches down to remove a dust cover from the heatflow package. With the UHT in his left hand as a prop, he extends his right leg to the side, bends his right knee inward, and reaches down easily with his right hand. Les effort than the dynamic grab he did without a prop three minutes earlier or the one he will do in about 25 minutes more.
125:11:04	Dynamic grab	Dave bobs to one knee to grab the heat flow probe, which is on the ground next to the emplacement hole. His first attempt fails. Fendell zooms in just in time to capture Dave's second, successful attempt. As he comes up, he says, "I sure wish I had a UHT." Most likely, he is thinking that he could have hooked the UHT handle under the cable to lift it.
125:13:53	Dynamic grab	It takes Dave three attempts to get the probe bag off the ground.
125:23:15	Dynamic grab	Easy grab of the second heat flow probe.
144:23:00	Dynamic hammer blow	Dave wants to use the hammer to break open a 15-cm rock that is lying on a flat-surface. He puts his right foot forward toward the rock, puts his left foot back, and flexes his knees, almost touching the ground with his right knee. Once down, he breaks the rock with a single blow and then lets the internal suit pressure straighten his knees so he can stand. A classic, elegant use of the suit.
148:27:01	Dynamic grab	Easy grab of the wire loop on the drill. The loop was about 15 cm off the ground. The drill stem was nearby at about chest height, but Dave didn't bother using it.
Apollo 16
119:24:37	Probable dynamic grab	John practiced doing dynamic grabs in the 1/6th-g airplane. Cahrlie comments,"Hey, you're doing pretty well with that deep-knee-dend stuff." John replies, Yeah, I already picked up a rock to see if it was possible." No TV until they put the camera on the Rover. Discussion.
120:17:48	Flexing the knees	To get something from the back of the MESA, Charlie jumps far enough onto the MESA to balance on his stomach. To get down, he bends his knees up 90 degrees, kicks them down, but doesn't come off. A second later, he pushes himself off with his hands. Discussion of the difficulty of keeping the knees bend against the internal pressure of the suit.
120:18:21	Kneeling using the MESA for support	Charlie has no trouble kneeling to pick up a piece of dropped equipment.
120:22:55	Failed dynamic grab	John has dropped the lower flagstaff section and attempts to make the grab. He doesn't get low enough and decides to kneel while using the upper flagstaff section for support.
121:04:29	Dynamic grab	Charlie successfully grabs the drill-stem rack, which had tipped over. Although the relatively large size of the rack made this grab relatively easy, Charlie is pleased with his success, "I'm getting where I can bend down in that suit, Tony."
121:11:53	Dynamic grab	Charlie successfully grabs the wrench off the drill stems on his second attempt. He does another successful grab at 121:15:13, jumping up slightly before he starts down so that the knee will bend more and he can get lower.
121:16:48	Using the drill for support	As he completes one of the heatflow holes, Charlie has to lean forward to maintain his grip on the drill and keep it from turning ("torquing") as gets close to full depth. He looks very stable.
121:26:12	Leaning on drill to reach down	With his feet well back, Charlie leans forward on the drill with his left hand to attach the wrench to the stems. To get up, Charlie keeps his weight on his left hand and moves his feet far enough toward the drill that he can stand easily.
121:52:04	Dynamic grab	Charlie grabs the rammer-jammer on his second try. In coming back up, he springs completely off the ground. He lands on both feet and then does a small hop to his left to get his balance.
121:53:10	Failed dynamic grab	Charlie misses the rock he was trying to grab and has to scramble to his left to avoid falling.
122:52:04	Dynamic grab	John grabs a dropped SCB. He is partly obscured by the back of the Rover.
123:58:35	Stable bent knee posture to use the hammer	John sticks his left leg out to the side and then bends his right knee enough to use the hammer on a partially-buried rock. He stays down for about 5 seconds while he strikes the rock twice. After John stands up for a moment, Charlie offers to hold him down and, as John gets down again, Charlie puts his hand on John's left shoulder. John pries a piece of the rock loose and then rises, only having stayed down for a second or two. Note that John wasn't having to reach down quite as far as Dave Scott did when he used the hammer in the Station 6 crater at 144:23:00.
124:08:01	Collecting the biggest Apollo sample	As he had done three times wiile working on the far side of Plum Crater, Charlie puts the scoop out in front of him, holding onto it as his sinks to his knees. "Big Muley" is roughly cylindrical in shape and is about 20 cm tall and 15 cm in diameter. It's terrestrial weight in 11.7 kg (26 lbs) but only 2 kg (4.4 lbs) on the Moon. It is the bulk more than the weight that makes collecting it a challenge. Charlie rolls the rock toward his right leg and tries to get his fingers under it and roll it up onto his thigh. That fails and he them leans forward far enough that he can wrap his fingers far enough down that he can press the rock firmly against his leg. Still using the scoop as a support, he manages to stand. He then release his grip on the scoop and moves his left hand down toward the rock. He then does a little jump and the rock floats up enough that he can get a solid grip with both hands. Excellent TV.
149:03:28	Dynamic grab	Classic example of John in action
Apollo 17
119:35:45	Using the drill for support	Gene puts his right hand on the drill for stability, puts his left leg back, and flexes his right knee until his left is almost touching the ground. He attaches the wrench to the drill stems and rises without difficulty.
119:36:39	Dynamic grab	On what may be Gene's first attempt at a dynamic grab, he gets down and holds the position long enough to reove the wrench from the drill stems. He will need some practice to become efficient.
119:39:53	Leaning on the drill without kneeling	To remove the wrench from the drill stems, Gene puts the drill down, bends his knees enough to get his right hand on the drill, moves his feet back a short way, bends his knees slightly and, with most of his weight on his hand, is able to remove the wrench. He then steps forward and rises without difficulty. He does something similar when attaching the wrench at 119:44:46 and removing it a short time later. "Oh, man, that works great!"
119:48:57	Knee bends	Gene does a series of quick knee bends so he can push the heatflow probe into the drill stems. He doesn't use any support.
120:08:01	Dynamic grab	Gene

5. Kneeling

The following table is not exhaustive. Most of the included incidents are ones with good TV coverage and/or relevant commentary. For unknown reasons, John Young and Gene Cernan were able to kneel without needing a support to keep the internal pressure of the suit from straightening the knees and forcing them forward onto their hands. With a long-handled tool for support, the other astronauts who tried kneeling were able to do so.

Ground Elapsed Time (hhh:mm:ss)	Subject or circumstance	Notes
Apollo 11
109:44:57	Trying knee bends at the ladder	Buzz tries some knee bends. It may be at this point that he gets the smudges of dirt on his knees can be seen in AS11-40-5903.
110:52:57	Bobbing Down on one knee	Neil bobs down briefly, apparently to grab something off the ground, probably the Apollo Close-up Stereo Camera. See the extensive discussion of kneeling following 110:45:03.
Apollo 12
115:48:57	Low value of kneeling without a hip bellows	In a 1991 comment, Pete notes that kneeling was of less value the early missions because their suits did not have the hip bellows/convolute that allowed the J-mission astronauts sit on the Rover. The lack of a hip convolute may have made cabin egress more difficult on the early missions.
118:19:43	Avoid kneeling to keep clean	Pete and Al Bean went to some lengths to avoid kneeling, in hopes of keeing the suits relatively clean.
Apollo 14
113:52:26	Tech. Debrief extract	In discussing mobility and stability, Al mentions "I got down on my knee a couple of times to pick up some things, but I got right back up again." Emphasize the value of training in the 1/6th-g airplane.
115:30:09	Tech. Debrief extract	Ed comments on the greater difficulty reaching low on the Moon. Al says he didn't have any trouble. In the TV, he goes down almost to a kneeling position to attach a weigh bag to the MET.
116:17:29	Kneeling with torso vertical	When the astronauts were at the ALSEP deployment site, Tv images of their suits were badly bloomed. Nonetheless, we see one of them - possibly Ed - sink to his knees with his center-of-mass well back and then, after placing the SIDE subpallet on the ground, rising easily to his feet. Ed may have used his Universal Handling Tool as a prop to help him keep the internal pressure of the suit from straightening his knees while he got down. Similar episode at 116:36:53.
116:50:38	Bobbing down onto one knee	Ed pushes a geophone into the ground.
131:24:16	Using the MET for support	Ed uses the MET for support so he can kneel and grab a dropped map.
132:42:43	Drop to one knee	During the climb to Cone, Ed tells Houston, "Al just dropped down on a knee to pick up a rock, and he went in 3 or 4 inches. Ed has to help Al get up.
133:43:30	Collect a large rock	Working near the rim of Cone Crater, Al collects a 9 kg rock and, although there is no TV coverage, he almost certainly used the same technique used by Dave Scott and Charlie Duke to collect their big rocks: using a long-handled tool for support while kneeling, pressing the rock against his leg, and then rising.
Apollo 15
120:44:01	Keeping clean	In comments on a 1996 draft of the A15LSJ, Dave wrote, "I cannot imagine that a (dirty) suit would not compromise cooling by the PLSS, but maybe we were oversensitized to this issue. Kneeling in the dirt still seems very unattractive to me! More dirt in the cabin, connectors, etc!! After three days of dirt on Apollo 15, I would be even more cautious on the next trip." See, also, comments after 120:58:47.
125:22:02	Kneeling to put wrench on the drill stems	Dave drilled very deeply and has to put the wrench on the stems very close to the ground. He uses the drill as a support in getting up.
145:53:23	Going sideways onto one knee	While securing Jim's SCB harness, Dave goes down on his right knee and holds the position for about 5 sections before finishing the job and rising. While he goes down and holds his position, he has his left palm on the back of Jim's PLSS for stability. There are few (no?) similar instances in the Apollo TV record.
147:36:15	Using the drill for support, saved fall	Dave uses the drill for support as he kneels so he can attach the wrench to the drill stem. the top of the drill is at about knee height. He has to reach forward with his righthand and ends up with all his weight on his left hand, with which he is holding the near drill handle, and on his right knee. His right knee starts to slide under his to his right and he has to use both hands to push himself up and avoid a fall.
147:41:21	Using the drill for support	Dave uses the drill for support as he gets to his knees and tries to put the wrench on the drill stem. This time, the drill is at about waist height, so he has far less trouble than when it was lower. Commentary just prior to 147:42:16.
165:32:56	Going to one knee or, perhaps, both knees and picking up his dropped camera without support	After Dave's spectacular trip and fall at the rille, he asks Jim to use the scoop to raise the camera lens barrel into reach. Jim in unable to do that because the barrel slides away on the soft surface. Dave then goes down onto one knee - or, possibly, both knees - and, once he has the camera, rises without difficulty. He is partly obscured by Jim, so we don't know if he was on one knee or both. Because Dave grabbed the camera with his right hand, we know he didn't use Jim for support.
165:39:39	Going to one knee, making use of a shelf at the base of the rock	Dave is able to kneel next to a rock by putting his right knee on a shelf at the base of the rock and sticking his left leg out to the side, with his foot noticeably lower than his right knee. He keeps his back relatively vertical.
166:09:00	Kneeling to collect Great Scott	Dave gets down on both knees, without support. He is leaning well back, undoubtedly to put his center-of-mass behind his knees to keep his knees bent. His feet are slightly uphill of his knees, which probably helps him keep his balance. He has the rock on his right and has a bit of trouble getting his hand low enough to get the rock pressed against the outside of his leg. The rock is much bigger than his hand. At one point, he starts to tip to his right, but gets his hand out to steady himself and his left leg out on the other side as a counterweight. His second attempt goes well and, as he gets the rock onto the outside of his right thigh, he stands easily.
Apollo 16
120:22:55	Kneeling with flagstaff section for support	After failing in his first attempt at a dynamic grab, John uses the upper flagstaff section for support as he goes to his knees to retrieve the lower flagstaff section he had dropped earlier. At 120;24:20, Charlie comments on how dirty John's lower legs are already. See, also, AS16-113-18339, which Charlie takes soon after.
121:21:21	Kneeling to inspect damaged heatflow cable connection	After John accidentally catches the heatflow ribbon cable on his boot and pulls it loose from the Central Station, he kneels twice as he assesses the damage. He uses a 30-cm rock for support on the first occasion; on the second occasion, once his is on his knees, he takes hold of a protruding piece of attachment hardware for a bit of stability. He is remarkably stable throughout this sequence.
121:26:12	Kneeling with the drill for support	For his second attempt to attach the wrench, Charlie puts his right hand on the drill for support while he gets to his knees. His posture suggests that the internal suit pressure is keeping him from getting all of his weight on his knees.
121:37:04	Kneeling with the chest-high drill stem for support	Holding on the the drill stem with his right hand, Charlie drops easily to his knees
121:45:34	Repeatedly dropping to the knees to work the jack	Charlie gets maximum utility from the jack by dropping to his knees on each stroke and "letting the suit do the work" of getting up.
123:59:15	Using the scoop/shovel for support	Charlie puts the head of the scoop perhaps 1.5 meters out in front of the his feet and leans on it with his left hands as he sinksto his knees. Initially, he has his back nearly vertical and can't reach low enough to pick up the rock fragment John pried off the partially-buried boulder. He leans forward till his back is about 30 degrees off vertical, moves himself perhaps 30 cm to his right, and grabs the fragment. He gets to his feet without difficulty, not having moved the scoop head at all. Charlie uses the technique again at 124:04:44 and at 124:06:34.
124:08:01	Using the scoop for support while collecting Big Muley	This time, Charlie is much closer to the Rover and we get a good look at the technique and what he has to do the pick up this very large rock, the largest single sample returned from the Moon during Apollo.
165:59:44	Kneeling while working on LMP PLSS	John kneels while attaching the bottom straps on Charlie's Sample Collection Bag (SCB). Motions of Charlie's PLSS suggest that John uses him for some support. Another example can be found at 122:52:32.

6. Falling

The following table is probably imcomplete, but is certainly representative of the Apollo experience.

Falling on the moon was usually not dangerous because (1) the moon's weak gravity gave the astronaut time to react; (2) the weak gravity field meant that the astronaut's impact velocity was much lower than it would have been on Earth; (3) excepting sizeable rocks - which are not common except near the rims of large, fresh craters - the ground was soft; (4) because the astronauts worked relatively near each other, if either of them fell in an awkward position, his crewmate could help him get up; and (5) the multi-layered, soft suit was forgiving. The points of weakness were probably the helmet, backpack, and zippers, particuarly if an astronaut fell on a rock. There were no instances during Apollo of astronauts falling on rocks big enough to be a hazard.

There were no known falls on Apollo 11; two probable falls on Apollo 12, and none on Apollo 14. There were four known or possible falls on Apollo 15, one of them fairly spectacular. There were twelve falls on Apollo 16, one of them potentially dangerous. And there were 9 falls on Apollo 17, two of them spectacular.

No injuries resulted from any of the falls - except damage to Charlie Duke's pride - and there was no equipment damage nor any increased suit leakage. Suits and, sometimes, camera lenses got dirty. The astronauts had lens brushes when needed.

Instances of Apollo Astronauts Falling and
Circumstances in which care was taken to avoid falls

Ground Elapsed Time (hhh:mm:ss)	Type	Notes
Apollo 11: no known falls
109:44:23	Potential of fallling when jumping	Armstrong, from the 1969 Technical Debrief - "I would say that balance (while walking) was not difficult; however, I did some fairly high jumps and found that there was a tendency to tip over backwards on a high jump. One time I came close to falling and decided that was enough of that." Note that Charlie Duke attempted a high jump during Apollo 16 (see below). He tipped over backwards and landed on his PLSS, fortunately without any consequences other than a momentary fright and a bit of wounded pride.
111:34:36	Slippery surfaces	Crew comments on tendency to slip while using the Lunar Equipment Conveyor (LEC); and on various factors that could make footing difficult. Later crews did not comment on these issues, probably having had the benefit of knowing what to expect and having more time to adapt to lunar conditions. Apollo 11 was the only crew to do much walking - as opposed to hopping or running - which may have also been a factor.
Apollo 12: two probable falls
115:27:19	New posture	Early in the first EVA, Al Bean comments that, because of the weight of the backpack, they are having to lean far forward to get their center-of-mass over their feet. "On Earth, you'd fall over (leaning so far forward)." Adjusting to this new posture took a few minutes. Additional comments about not moving backwards. Pete Conrad mentions that, contrary to comments by the Apollo 11 crew, he did not notice that the ground felt "slippery".
115:30:20	Stumble, no fall	Pete after telling Al, who is still in the LM, "you've really got to watch your step down here." A moment later, while adjusting the height of the MESA, he says "I almost fell."
117:19:03	Probable fall	Bean discusses the greater hazard of moving backwards rather than forwards and mentions that "I tripped a couple of times going backwards." One such instance may have happened at 117:32:04.
118:25:59	Probable fall	Bean probably fell; but got up without difficulty. Conrad may have helped him get up. In 1991, Bean remembered, "I fell down a couple of times."
132:46:22	Wary of steep slopes	Conrad and Bean had a "safety line" which they might have used in case one of them needed help getting out of a crater. It was no more than about 10 meters long and was never used. They thought about going into Bench Crater but decided that the walls were too steep and the danger of falling was too great. With regard to the latter, they seem to have been concerned primarily with falling in a position from which it would be difficult to get up. For example, on their back with head downslope. Later crews gained experience with steep slopes and, during Apollo 17, getting up from a difficult position.
Apollo 14: One possible stumble or near fall
118:15:33	Stumble, saved	Off camera, Al Shepard may have stumbled while working around the ladder during EVA-1 close-out. The dialog suggests that he caught himself by grabbing the MESA. In a section of the Technical Crew Debriefing reproduced after 113:52:26, Al says he did not fall during either of the EVAs. Comments about stability and ease of adaptation.
135:16:39	Cable snag, no fall	During the EVA-2 close-out, Al repeatedly snags the TV cable with his foot and at 135:24:38, actually pulls the TV over. He does not appear to stumble during any of these episodes.
Apollo 15: 3 falls, 1 possible fall, 4 saves, 3 stumbles
120:02:47	Saved fall	The footpad on the ladder strut is not resting firmly on the ground and is free to move. When Jim Irwin steps on the footpad for the first time, it rotates under him and he saves himself from a fall by grabbing the right handrail.
120:11:24	Cable hazard	Jim moves the TV cable so they don't trip over it during Rover deployment.
120:16:05	Fall walking backwards	During the LRV deployment, Jim backed away from the LM pulling a lanyard and trying to take pictures at the same time. He was off camera when he tripped and fell. Dave Scott gave him a hand getting up. Later, he learned to get up by himself. "It wasn't difficult ... but it was much easier, you know, to get your buddy to lift you up." Technique described.
120:42:29	Off balance, saved fall	Dave loses his balance while installing the LCRU on the front of the Rover. He hops in the direction of the fall, which gives him time to get his hand onto the Rover wheel to steady himself.
120:44:01	discuss care versus efficiency	Discussion of the relative value of (1) trying to keep clean, (2) brushing the suits after a fall or saved fall to avoid excess use of cooling water, or (3) letting the suits get dirty in the interest of using the limited time available most efficiently. The Apollo 16 and 17 crews made little effort to keep clean and only brushed each other off at the end of each EVA. They threw themselves into their work and fell more frequently. For longer lunar stays, dust control will be essential.
122:43:06	Stumble, no fall	Dave tries to get a sample bag low enough for Jim to reach and stumbles forward.
123:00:46	working on slopes	Working on a hillside at Station 2, Dave has to find a way to stand so he can hold a sample bag low enough for Jim to reach. Working on slopes required care to avoid falls.
124:01:38	possbile fall during Rover dismount	Back at the LM at the end of the EVA-1 traverse, Jim may have fallen. Dave wants to look at Jim's camera in case it needs dusting.
124:48:02	Saved fall	Dave attempts a spinning throw - like an Olympic discus thrower - of an empty experiment pallet. His spin continues after he releases the pallet. He is off balance but gets his right hand on the ground for some stability and ends up on his feet.
143:54:33	Rover dismount on steep slope	At Station 6, Dave parked with the Rover pointed uphill on an 11-degree slope. Dave warns Jim about the possibility of falling backwards when they jump out of the seats. Dave may have helped Jim dismount.
144:13:00	stumble, no fall	Dave stumbles slightly while turing to get some sunlight on a rock he is examining.
145:01:44	Rover dismount on steep slope	At Station 6a, Dave had to park on a steep slope with Jim on the downslope side of the Rover. Dave warns him to be careful jumping off his seat.
145:30:28	Difficulty of bending back to look up without falling	At Spur Crater, Dave is trying to use a sighting scope to point the high-gain antenna at Earth. He asks Jim to look up at Earth to help him get a rough alignment but Jim decides that, because Earth is so high in the local sky, he would fall if he tried. The sighting scope was re-configured for Apollo 16 and A17, primarily to give a brighter image of Earth. Here, Dave used LCRU Automatic Gain Control output to get a rough alignment. The only way to look overhead in the suits was to use the ladder or some other firm support while leaning backwards or turning sideways.
143:56:37	Working on a slope	Jim decides to omit the uphill frames of a panorama because of the difficulty of leaning backwards.
144:27:45	Uphill fall on a steep slope	Dave tries to climb out of a steep crater and loses his balance because of the soft surface. He starts to fall to his right but stops that component of the frall with his right hand. Jim helps him up.
145:49:15	Stumble, no fall	Jim stumbles, but does not fall, while standing on the slope just inside Spur Crater taking pictures.
146:08:28	Maintaining balance while collecting large rocks	While off-camera, Jim collects a 4.8 kg rock. The dialog suggests that he uses the same technique used by Dave used at Station 9a and by Charlie Duke at Apollo 16 Station 1.
147:37:03	Off balance, saved fall	Dave loses his balance while trying to attach a tool to the drill stem. He starts out on his knees and has his left hond on the near drill handle for support. He has to reach far forward to attach the tool with his right hand. As he extends his reach, his left knee comes off the ground and his right knee starts to slide toward his left. Because of the weight of the backpack, he starts to rotate to his right onto his back. To catch himself, Dave grabs the drill with his right hand and pushed up with his right foot. As he comes up, he gets his right leg under his center of mass and, with his left leg stuck out behind, spins through about ninety degrees. As he brings his left leg down, he makes a few short steps away from the drill and, finally, brings himself to a stop with a two-footed hop. The elapsed time from the start of the fall to the end of the final hop was almost six seconds and this episode is a dramatic illustration of the length of time one has to respond in one-sixth gravity.
149:02:04	Suit dirty from falls	While using the dust brush on Dave at the end of EVA-2, Jim Irwin wonders why the front of Dave's suit is so dirty. He then remembers that Dave has saved himself from some spectacular falls, spraying dust around in the process.
165:32:00	Spectacular fall after tripping	While describing details he can see in the far wall of Hadley Rille, Dave is walking forward and trips over a rock he hadn't noticed. He fell onto his hands and knees and, as his momentum carried him out of the TV field-of-view, he was rolling onto his right side. Jim goes to him to help him get up but, by the time Jim arrives, Dave is up. Unfortunately, he was still off camera when he got up. To retrieve the Hasselblad he was carrying, Dave drops to his right knee, grabs the camera, and gets up without difficulty. One-sixth grvity and the soft surface made this fall much less dangerous than it would have been on Earth.
Apollo 16: 12 falls, 4 saves
120:08:35	Loss of balance, no fall	Charlie Duke loses his balance trying to tug loose the Velcro holding his seat back down.
121:11:53	Dynamic grab, no fall	Charlie bobs down to get the wrench off the drill string. He had his right leg well forward and his left well back and got the wrench off without losing his balance. They discuss the technique, which John developed during training in the 1/6th-g aircraft, at 119:24:37.
121:29:52	Off-camera fall	Charlie Duke falls while trying to remove the drill from the deep-core stems. TV of him having some trouble getting up from his hands and knees. He will learn to get up more efficiently than he did this time. At 122:51:29, during preparations for the geology traverse, John Young comments on the amount of dust Charlie has on his suit and/or PLSS.
121:53:10	Loss of balance, no fall	Charlie loses his balance while trying to bob down to grab a rock off the surface. Because lunar gravity is weak, he has time to recover without falling. First try at getting up doesn't work but then masters the standard technique of getting on hands and knees and then pushing with his hands so he rotates backwards with his knees and lower slegs staying on the ground. Once his center-of-mass is behind his knees, he rises easily.
122:40:42	Dynamic grab, minor fall	Off-camera, Charlie falls while solo sampling, probably while trying to bob down to grab the rock. He has some trouble getting up and, after he is up, checks to make sure his camera lens is clean.
123:42:57	Dynamic grab, minor fall	Off-camera, John tries to bob down to grab a fallen sample bag and falls.
124:08:29	Care while collecting very large rock	Charlie collects the sample known as Big Muley from the rim of Plum Crater, using the same technique used by Scott and Irwin. He is very careful and does not lose his balance. At 11.7 kg (26 pounds), it is the largest sample collected during Apollo.
125:32:23	Controlled fall	John dropped the dustbrush and, as he bobs down to grab it, loses his balance. Gets himself turned during the fall so he lands on his hands and knees.
125:46:07	Ladder climbing	John climbs the ladder using only one hand on the rails and rungs. He has a rockbox in his other hand. Charlie urges care.
144:35:31	Minor fall while getting up	Charlie ended up on his hands and knees when the penetroeter went all the way into the ground on a steep, soft slope at Station 4. He falls while trying to get up.
145:28:02	Loss of balance on a soft slope, no fall	Charlie loses his balance while working on the soft, inner wall of a crater but runs in place until he can plant the rake and catch himself.
146:26:40	Fall while mounting the Rover	When Charlie tries to jump into his Rover seat, his PLSS hits the seatback and he falls. John decides they will brush Charlie's lens at the next station.
147:54:48	Fall getting off the Rover	At a level site, Charlie has trouble dismounting and falls when he does get out. After John helps him up, he checks to make sure his camera lens is clean.
149:12:03	Minor fall while getting up	Charlie ended up on his hands and knees when the penetroeter went all the way into the ground at a level site. He falls while trying to get up.
166:58:18	Dynamic grab, minor fall	John bobs down to grab some fallen bags. It takes him an extra second or saw to get them in hand and, during that second, he starts to lose his balance and falls as he starts to rise. He gets up with a novel technique.
167:13:09	Loss of balance, minor fall	Off-camera, Charlie falls while trying to retrieve an SCB.
168:39:18	Fall in awkward position	Off-camera, Charlie falls, probably while picking up a sample he has broken off Shadow Rock. He ends up on the ground next to the rock and has to have John's help to get up.
170:21:44	Dangerous fall	After John does a few jumps, learning to control his balance by doing a series of jumps that start small and get larger and holding the Rover for stability as he gets started, Charlie does one small jump and then one very large one. By the time he gets to the top of the jump, he is leaning backwards by 20-30 degrees and, although he lands momentarily on his feet, he cannot keep himself from falling backwards onto his PLSS, fortunately with no damage.
Apollo 17: 9 falls, 1 save, 5 stumbles
117:21:16	stumble, no fall	Early in EVA, Jack Schmitt stumbles but does not fall. No TV.
117:36:06	minor fall	Gene Cernan falls while trying to pick up a dropped tool. "Well, I found how to get up!" No TV.
117:52:45	minor fall	Jack falls while trying to pick up a rock. No TV.
118:28:27	Stable posture for looking up, no fall	Discussion of a stable posture Jack uses to look up at equipment on the top of the LM.
119:35:45	stumble, no fall	Gene stumbles while trying to take the wrench off the drill-stem rack.
119:49:04	spinning throw, almost falls	Like Dave Scott during the Apollo 15 ALSEP deployment, Gene does a spinning throw and almost falls.
121:00:59	Spectacular spinning fall	While taking a turn using a jack-and-treadle to remove the deepcore, Jack throws all his weight onto the jack handle, loses his balance, and ends up in a spectacular, spinning fall. Gne helps him up.
121:38:18	stumble, no fall	Jack stumbles on a rock near the LM. No TV.
122:13:01	stumble, no fall	Gene stumbles slightly on a fist-sized rock while climbing out of a crater.
122:15:55	stumble, no fall	Jack stumbles while trying to raise the scoop handle high enough to pour a sample into a bag Gene is holding as low as he can.
123:09:08	Need for support when leaning low	The solar panels on the SEP receiver wouldn't stay open on their own, so Jack had to put some duct tape on them. Because he had to put the tape on at about knee height, he had to lean on Gene to keep his balance. The TV was not pointed at them during this activity.
145:28:39	Getting up in 1/6th gravity	Cernan comments: "This is not meant as a criticism, but I think that Jack tended to fall more than the rest of us did. And it's maybe because he became more aggressive. And, thank God for one-sixth gravity. You would have dropped things anyway because of the lack of nimbleness and dexterity and you would have wanted to get down to pick things up and chip rocks and what have you. And one-sixth gravity made getting back up a lot easier than it would have been otherwise."
144:02:16	Minor fall	Off, camera, Gene falls when trying to mount the Rover at the Scarp Gravimeter stop. He is able to hold on to the Rover to make getting up easy.
144:50:52	Minor fall	While working on the outer slope of the raised rim of Ballet Crater Jack goes to one knee to pick up a dropped SCB and falls trying to get up. Ballet Crater got its name because of the efforts Jack had to make repeatedly at this site to retrieve dropped tools.
144:56:23	Minor fall	Jack responds to CapCom Bob Parker's remark about the Houston Ballet calling to request Jack's services for the coming season by doing one-footed hops on his right leg with his left leg extended back and up. He is clearly playing. He loses his balance and falls to his hands and knees. Discussion about confidence in the suit as long as there was no chance of falling on a sizeable rock.
146:36:38	Working in a boulder field	Need for caution in the boulder field on the rim of Camelot Crater
147:53:35	Discuss distribution of dust on the suits	While dusting each other off at the end of EVA-2, Gene mentions that, during his fall while trying to get on the Rover at the Scarp Gravimeter stop, he only got his outboard (left) arm dirty and not his inboard (right) arm. Also discuss the amount of time spend dusting each other.
164:59:13	Working on a steep slope	Off-camera, Gene has trouble reaching surfaces on the front of the Rover that need dusting. He decides to defer the dusting to the next stop. Additional comments at 165:04:48.
165:24:10	Off-camera fall	While sampling on a particularly steep slope - as evidenced by the fact that both astronauts are using the high colling setting - Jack falls while trying to pick up a chip he has broken off one the boulders.
165:36:33	Spectacular fall	While running cross slope to limit his downslope speed, caught his trailing left foot on a small mound or crater rim and started to fall. He was able to control the fall and ended up on his hands and knees. Once he gets his feet downhill, he pushes back to get his center-of-mass over his knees and rises without difficulty. In 1992, Schmitt commented that, by this thrid EVA, they had a great deal of confidence and didn't worry much about falling. Presumably, they were confident in the suits and in their ability to get up when they did fall. They also knew they would fall slowly in 1/6th-g and that, in the absence of large rocks, the surface was soft.
166:00:29	Working on a slope	Because Jack's seat in on the downhill side of the slope at Station 6, Gene decides to drive the Rover to a more level spot and let Jack get in his seat there.
167:33:28	Minor fall; difficulty getting up from awkward position	At Station 8, Gene parked facing mostly uphill but, apparently, with his side slightly uphill and Jack's slightly downhill. When Gene tries to jump into his seat at the end of the stop, he falls and is pinned by the slope against the Rover, possibly with his feet uphill. Gene needs Jack's help in getting up and has him push back on his helmet.

7. Getting Up

Ground Elapsed Time (hhh:mm:ss)

Type or circumstance

Notes

Apollo 15