Why can you jump so high on the Moon?

Stand up tall and give a little jump. Can you feel the floor under your toes? Thump! Your feet land back on the floor so fast.

Astronauts have jumped on the Moon. They bounced up high, like big puffy bunnies. They drifted down slowly, too. So why can you jump so high on the Moon?

Every jump starts with your legs. They bend and then push the ground hard. That push is your push-off, which means the strong push your legs give the ground. It sends you up into the air.

Then Earth pulls you back down. Earth pulls everything toward it, like balls, apples and you. A ball you toss comes back down, and so do you. That pull is why you always land.

Earth is very, very big. A big Earth pulls hard. It tugs you down quickly, every single time. So your jump stops rising right away, and down you come.

The Moon pulls things toward it too. But the Moon is much smaller than Earth. What do you think a small Moon's pull feels like?

A small Moon pulls gently, like a soft little tug. Earth pulls six times harder. So on the Moon, your body feels light and bouncy.

The same push-off now carries you up much higher. The Moon's gentle pull slows you down only a little. You hang up there for a long, slow moment. Then the gentle pull brings you softly back down.

The small Moon pulls you down gently, so your push-off carries you up high. Big Earth pulls much harder, so here your jump comes down fast.

Up, up floats a little jumper, high above the quiet Moon. Slowly the jumper drifts back down, light as a feather. Two small feet touch the ground with a gentle pat.