By 
September 3rd, 2023
Image credit: IET
On the Moon face of it, lunar football in the near-future may appear a little “poles apart” activity – a non-contact sport, with no out-of-bounds play and flexible suits with artificial reality (AR) helmets to deal with the harsh conditions of space.
“But, it will still remain an exciting game of skill, passion and creativity and we can’t wait for kick-off,” explains the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), one of the world’s largest engineering institutions with more than 154,000 engineering and technology professionals in 148 countries.
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An IET-sponsored team of visionary engineers and technology professionals have appraised the future of lunar football.
The vision is scoping out how to play football on the Moon as early as 2035.
Image credit: IET
“But, given the Moon has one-sixth of Earth’s gravity, a surface of dusty soil and no breathable atmosphere, the game will look very different,” according to an IET website spotlighting the first-ever Lunar Football Rule Book.
For instance, each player must carry their own oxygen tank and be wearing an airtight suit.
Due to the high contrast of light on the Moon, Lunar Football must take place at lunar noon to maximize visibility and avoid shadows.
Image credit: IET
Ball bounce
Then there’s the ball itself. It must be 1.5 times the size of a terrestrial football – making it a size 8 football. Ideally the ball will be mostly black to contrast with the lunar soil.
The ball must have a core of next-generation Aerogel to give the ball a compressibility to allow bouncing while not containing any air.
IET has created a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) competition for kids that entails designing a “Moon United Football Kit” and open for entries from now until September 15, 2023.
To access the rule book, go to:
https://eabw.theiet.org/media/3476/lunar-football-moon-united-rule-book.pdf
For information on IET and its various innovative activities, go to:
Posted in Space News
