How strong is gravity on the Moon?
Gravity on the Moon is 1.62 m/s², about a sixth of Earth's. A 100 pound person weighs about 17 pounds there. There is no air to slow anything down, so an apple you can throw 11.5 meters on Earth goes about 66.8 meters and stays up for 9.1 seconds.
This is the math inside Snack Lob, a slingshot game about feeding hungry monsters on eight planets. It is coming to iPad first.
The short version
| Surface gravity | 1.62 m/s² |
|---|---|
| Next to Earth's | 0.17 times |
| A 100 pound person weighs | 17 pounds |
| Air | None |
| An apple thrown at 23 mph lands | 66.8 m away (11.5 m on Earth) |
| It stays in the air | 9.1 s (1.6 s on Earth) |
Where the numbers come from. Gravity figures are NASA's. The throw distances are worked out from them with the air each place has, the same way the game does it. NASA Planetary Fact Sheet, NASA on Titan.
Try it: Earth, then the Moon
Pull back on the picture and let go. The apple leaves your hand at the same speed both times.
More questions
How high could you jump on the Moon?
About six times as high as on Earth. A jump that gets you half a meter off the ground here gets you about 3.0 meters on the Moon.
Why do things fall slowly on the Moon?
The Moon has about 1.2% of Earth's mass, so it pulls much less. With no air, a feather and a hammer fall at the same speed. Astronaut David Scott tried it on Apollo 15 in 1971, and they landed together.
How far could you throw a ball on the Moon?
About six times as far as on Earth, as long as you throw it the same way. A throw that goes 11.5 meters here goes about 66.8 meters there.
Gravity on Mars
Gravity on Jupiter
Your weight on other planets
Snack Lob: one throw on eight planets