Minnesota Space Grant Supports Student Researchers in “Moon Walk” at State Fair
Moonwalk Simulator sets up for STEM Day demos on August 27.
Visitors on the first day of the Minnesota State Fair will be able to get the sensation they are on the moon without ever leaving the state.
Researchers working on a Saint Catherine University project will introduce a “moonwalk simulator” on Thursday, August 27, in Dan Patch Park near the Grandstand.
Researchers from Saint Kate’s and Michigan Technological University are using a $300,000 grant from NASA to create systems aimed at helping to guide astronauts when they land on the moon for the first time in decades. Students from the University of Minnesota are assisting with the project. Binghamton University in New York has also joined as a partner.
The first prototype will leave its usual space in a physical therapy room at Saint Kate’s to participate in STEM Day at the State Fair. Sponsored by the educational organization SciMathMN, the theme this year is “Hands-On STEM: Build It. Test It. Change the World.”
Researchers on the Moonwalk Simulator hope to have an impact beyond Earth. The system of pulleys and a harness is designed to remove five-sixths of a person’s weight to mimic the moon’s lighter gravity.
Fellow grant recipients at Michigan Tech are already at work on a more elaborate second version of the simulator that will be used to collect data for NASA about how astronauts should walk, hop, skip or run on the moon. However, kids who visit the fair from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. August 27 will have a chance to use the initial version to leap up with far less resistance than usual. A presentation and demonstration of the system is scheduled from 4:15-5 p.m.
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Image Credit: Seth Rowe
Original Post Date: 8.17.2026