Luckily for the Skylab residents,
NASA had begun to understand the
importance of exercise while in orbit
and provided the crew with crude,
but functional, workout devices.
Gibson: “We had a bicycle Ergometer, which was used primarily
to keep the cardiovascular system in
shape. That worked pretty well. We
had Exergenies, essentially resistance
devices, that were like lifting weights
back down here on the ground.
“We also had what I call a “poorman’s treadmill.” Right now they
have folks living up there in luxury
with a first-class treadmill. We didn’t
have that available so Bill Thornton,
who was an ingenious doctor that
later flew on some Shuttle flights,
came up with a way to hold us down
to the deck with about our own
weight by putting elastic straps over
our shoulders and then a thin Teflon
sheet about two feet wide and four
ercise, so we came back in slightly
better condition.”
Despite advances in exercise
equipment for use in zero gravity,
Gibson believes that bone loss during a manned mission to Mars might
still be an issue.
Gibson: “One of the real worries, of course, is going to Mars or
on some other long duration mission where you are in zero gravity
continuously. First of all, just landing
on Mars and being able to stand
up and maneuver around could be
an issue. Second, calcium loss from
the bones could also be a problem.
NASA felt that, on the average, we
would have been OK up to about
a year and a half. A bone is just like
a muscle in that, if you exercise it, it
retains its strength; for a bone, it’s its
calcium. And, of course, the parts
you don’t exercise in zero gravity like
Ed Gibson operates Skylab’s solar telescope array from the control console in the
multiple docking adapter. One hand grips the table to keep him from floating away.
Photo: NASA via Retro Space Images
feet long under our feet. In that arrangement we could walk or run by
letting our feet slide over the Teflon.
That helped keep some of the muscles in shape in our hips and legs that
we wouldn’t have been able to do
otherwise. It worked out pretty well.
“We exercised about an hour and
a half every day, which was longer
than the previous crews had to ex-
www.RocketSTEM.org
you do down here are the legs and
the hips.
“We came back [from Skylab] in
reasonable condition. I also think
they’ve developed some effective
ways to circumvent most of these
problems. I’d hate to see us have to
go to a rotating space station, because I enjoyed zero gravity!
Gibson spent more than 15 hours
outside Skylab during three spacewalks, on top of setting a world record with his crewmates for the longest time spent in space, which was
a record that was not topped until
1978 by the Soviet Union.
Gibson: “I also really enjoyed the
EVAs, the spacewalks. You really get
to see the Earth as you don’t see it
from inside, and the feeling of height
is a little bit different.
“I don’t know to give you that feeling of height other than through an
analogy. Let’s come back to Earth
and go up to the top of a tall building where you look out. The Empire
State Building or Sears Tower will do.
It’s pleasant and relaxing. But then
let’s open the window and walk out
to the end of a long springboard
where a steel fisted Hulk Hogan
grabs you by your ankles and holds
your head down. Now, intellectually,
you know you’ll never fall, and even
though you’re at the same height as
you were inside, you’ve got to admit
it feels a bit different.
“You get that same feeling on
the spacewalk just more of it. You
just glide over Earth at a very serene
five miles per second. And the laws
of Sir Isaac Newton give you full intellectual confidence that you’re up
there to stay. But when you move
away from the station, look down
hundreds of miles at Earth and don’t
feel or see anything else around you,
you wonder if that Newt