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Assume that we are talking about some time in the future where we have moon bases & moon resorts along with Mars bases and Mars resorts.

I know that extended time on either the moon or mars will lead to excessive muscle and bone loss, but a short time on either body wouldn't. Muscles atrophy much slower when there is some physical activity vs when there is none.

What would it be like playing around in the lower gravity? I imagine on the moon you could kick your heel and do flips while going to make yourself a sandwich.

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  • $\begingroup$ You might want to also think about how far in the future. With our current technology it can easily take a year to get to Mars, which is more than enough time for muscles and bones to weaken $\endgroup$
    – Punintended
    Oct 4, 2019 at 16:33
  • $\begingroup$ According to xkcd, you could do a reverse high dive on the moon. what-if.xkcd.com/124 $\endgroup$
    – Halfthawed
    Oct 4, 2019 at 20:11

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If you want to keep your muscles healthy, you need a sport that moves all of them. So stuff like rowing, running and billiard are out of question.

Also team sports like basketball, soccer and lacrosse would be awkward due to the lower gravity. It's not that everything seems lighter, it's just that the ball will go anywhere so fast and come down so slow that in the very least those games will not be played as they are here on Earth.

So you need an alternative which does help you move the whole body. Martial arts are one thing to try. But there is another sport that is greatly helped by the lower gravity:

Dwarf-tossing

(But don't tell the elf.)

Under martian gravity a dwarf could weight as little as 20 kilograms. It is quite possible for the regular adult to throw them quite a long distance. Mar's surface is mostly soft sand on a lot of places, so even the basic vacuum-suit will do for protection against the impact of the fall. If you are doing the indoor variety with velcro walls, you'll be able to pin them higher than here on Earth.

The movements required in throwing someone involve the whole body, and their weight is the load your muscles need for a good workout.

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    $\begingroup$ Quick note: Mars’ sand is soft because there’s an atmosphere to wear down the particles. If you do this on the Moon, be prepared for really, really sharp moon dust. $\endgroup$
    – Paralyzoid
    Oct 4, 2019 at 18:24
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What's your idea of fun?

Sure, in the low gravity you can do things you can't on Earth. But if you're looking for a taste of home while having an entirely new take on a traditional sport, try golf. Alan Shepard did it on Apollo 14 in 1971, and it would be perfectly fine to continue the tradition. But this time, have your course equipped with magnetic accelerators. This would add an element of unpredictability - you never know where it will land because you could get kilometers of range from a single stroke combined with low G.

This might not work or might be a terrible idea, but it would certainly be Kerbal. It might even result in a golf ball or two being fired into orbit! Also notable is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley which mentions "Electro-Golf" as one of many methods of entertainment.

Hope this helps!

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  • $\begingroup$ True, but you could end up on the other side of the Moon if timed properly, or get into a very long suborbital trajectory. $\endgroup$
    – Lelu
    Oct 6, 2019 at 2:01
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Consider the moon. If you make a habitat with normal Earth atmosphere at normal pressure, and you have really big tanks to store extra air in, then you can fly under human power. The Menace From Earth is a Robert A. Heinlein story where this was a big plot feature.

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Extreme 3-D Dodgeball

3D dodgeball is like normal dodgeball, except it's played in an arena composed entirely of trampolines, and has walls at an angle, which are also trampoline pads. It's incredibly fun and also quite dangerous. So, I was thinking. Why not have this kind of a setup, then lower the ceiling and place trampolines there as well? Humans can jump 10 feet unaided on the moon, a good 6.6 times higher than on Earth, meaning that you might be able to manage 15 to 20 feet on a trampoline, and if you've placed pads on the ceiling, you've created a box that you'd be able to rebound around it. Then add dodgeballs.

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Say hi to MECH Arena!

Machines that are unlikely to work on Earth can support themselves. The square cube law makes those giant robots a nightmare on design and pushes too many kilograms on joints.

On mars they are going to be lighter -> Viable mechs!

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