I know you guys at Vulture Central have currently

less snow 500 miles around your location than one

could find in the south part of the Tenere desert, but

which cross-country skiing technique does the bloke

speak about ?

Alternative, where both skiis stay parallel and one relies on

the scales carved on the surface of ths skis, in order

to move ?

Or skating where it's basically the same as ice-skating ?

Surely, some explanation would be needed, and would

prevent my poor brain from figuring out how on earth

(so to speak), one would skate on the moon !

Cheers from Haut-Jura in France.

As he says that actual skis would not be required I would assume he means the latter.

I can't remember the title of the story at the moment but Heinlein suggested this technique in a story written in the 50's . Heinlein did suggest using actual ski's though.

Based on the description and my experience as a former ski racer, it's the first technique: also called "classic" skiing. It is NOT the second technique (skating). When classic skiiing you shift all your weight to one leg and kick it backwards, finishing on the toe. On the moon, this push down and kick back would throw you into the air and forward. A "skating" astronaut would move from side-to-side more than he would move forward.