How would humans with appropriate equipment travel the surface of Saturn's moon Titan on foot?

Question

Taking into account the physical characteristics of Titan (e.g. surface gravity, atmospheric pressure), what would be the most efficient method of motion for an astronaut to travel the surface of Titan on foot?

Would it be a leaping or hopping motion? Or would it make more sense to walk somehow? I'm unsure how the friction of the ground would accommodate for that.

For the purpose of this thought experiment, lets assume that humanity has the necessary equipment to put an astronaut on Titan and to have protective clothing to enable reasonable safety from environmental hazards on the surface.

For further clarification, the gravity is a comfortable 1.352 m/s2 (0.14 g in comparison with Earth) which equates to .85 Moons. The surface pressure is 146.7 kPa which compares to 1.45 atm (Earth).

In terms of efficiency, it would come down to how much work the human body would have to do to result in an "optimal" speed, by always considering the safety of humans traversing the landscape first and foremost.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Depending on your environmental suit, it would probably be much like the Apollo astronauts' mode of choice on the moon.

I say "depending on your environmental suit" because the environment at Titan is very different from that on the moon. True, the gravitational acceleration is roughly the same, but a Titan environmental suit wouldn't have to protect against vacuum, and would have to protect against the extreme cold—Huygens measured a surface temperature of 94 K, consistent with radio science measurements at other locations. Insulation against that large a temperature difference would likely be bulky, but could be relatively light compared to the structure needed to contain ~1/3 atmosphere pressure.

Comments have mentioned the high atmospheric density and resulting drag. I calculate a density of ~5.3 kg/m^3, roughly 4 times that at Earth's surface on a 0° C day. At very low speeds, drag is roughly proportional to speed, but at moderate speeds it goes as velocity squared.

Assuming my calculated density, a speed of 1 m/s (~2.24 MPH), and a person with a coefficient of drag times the drag area (suit included) of 1/2 m^2, the drag force would be ~2.6 N, compared to ~0.63 N here at Earth. Although larger, this would be hardly noticeable. Not imperceptible, but not enough to make it an impediment. If that person and their suit comes in at 100 kg the gravity force would be ~135 N, so the drag force is ~1/50 of the gravitational force. Walking normally wouldn't be difficult.

Unless, as was the case with Apollo, a bulky suit makes a normal gait more effort, due to the effort involved in bending the legs. In that case, the "hop" is most comfortable.