How far did the golf ball really travel on the Moon?
50 years ago astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the moon which he claimed travelled "miles and miles", but now we know just how far it really went. Sign up for our daily newsletter!
Did Alan Shepard really hit a golf ball on the Moon?
50 years ago astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the moon which he claimed travelled "miles and miles", but now we know just how far it really went. Sign up for our daily newsletter! An imaging specialist has been able to calculate how far astronaut Alan Shepard really hit a golf ball on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission 50 years ago.
Did an astronaut play golf on the Moon?
50 years ago, an Apollo 14 astronaut played golf on the moon. Here's the inside story. A still from video footage shows NASA astronaut Alan Shepard preparing to hit a golf ball on the moon. By this point in the moonwalk, the astronauts had already put away the still-photograph cameras.
Could Bryson DeChambeau hit a golf ball on the Moon?
Saunders, whose forthcoming book is entitled Apollo Remastered, estimates that a professional US Open golfer like Bryson DeChambeau could, in theory, hit a ball as far as 3.41 miles on the Moon, with a hang time of 1 minute 22 seconds—much farther (and longer) than Shepard's feat. As he told the BBC:
Could you hit a golf ball on the moon?
No, you cannot hit a golf ball into orbit on the moon.
Is it possible to hit a golf ball from the moon to the Earth?
Not even the strongest human could launch a golf ball at such a speed. One can make a golf ball travel for a couple miles on the moon, but the ball would always end up landing back on its surface.
How far would you hit a golf ball on Mars?
With an initial golf ball velocity of 82.7 m/sec and launch angle of 12 degrees, the distance traveled by a golf ball on Mars would be 748 meters or 818 yards! So there you have it.
Who hit a golf ball almost a half mile on the moon?
But one “out of this world” moment trumps them all – that time 50 years ago when astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. played golf on the moon. While the club he used on Feb.
How far would a 300 yard drive go on the moon?
McIlroy regularly drives golf balls over 300 yards (274 meters) at speeds of over 180mph and at a pitch angle of 15 degrees. But just how far would his shots travel if one of the Majors took place on the moon? Dr Sarzi said: “Without air friction McIlroy's typical drive would go further out to some 330 meters.
Can you throw a rock from the moon to Earth?
Even if all other conditions were identical to those on Earth, this alone would be enough to send it farther, but the lack of atmosphere and reduced gravity would contribute even more distance. To get the maximum horizontal distance, you would have to throw the rock at a 45-degree angle.
How far can you throw a football on the moon?
That would have amazing effects: What might be a neat 60 m cross on Earth could easily turn into a 350 meter volley up on the moon. The ball could reach a height of 50 meters – and it would stay up in the air much longer. Of course, that would also mean that the playing field needs to be reconsidered.
Was football played on the moon?
Alan Shepard, an astronaut from the Apollo 14 mission, who was sent to the moon with two more crew members in 1971, has tried and succeeded in batting a golf ball on the moon. We don't really know how far his ball reached.
Why are there 3 golf balls on the moon?
Alan Shepard, part of the Apollo 14 mission, stands as the only person to hit golf balls on the moon. During the mission, Shepard took a few swings and ended up leaving two golf balls to live on the moon forever. Apparently, he fitted an 6 iron head to the handle of a lunar sample collection device.
Did Buzz Aldrin play golf on the moon?
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin attempted to play golf on the Moon. False. It was, in fact, Alan Shepard who took a golf ball to the moon on Apollo 14 – he hit it with a sample collector and it went out of sight!
How many golf balls are on the moon?
two golf ballsThere are two golf balls on the moon, placed there by Alan Shepard, a NASA astronaut in the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.
Did Alan Shepard ever go to the moon?
Shepard shields his eyes from the bright sun at Apollo 14's Fra Mauro landing site, February 1971. Of the original seven astronauts chosen by NASA in 1959, only one, Alan Shepard, made it to the moon.
How far can a golfer hit a ball on the moon?
Let's look at this in a little detail. On Earth, a very good golfer can hit a ball about 300 yards, with very few notable exceptions getting a little farther. But the Moon's a little different. With no atmosphere (and no air resistance), and only one-sixth of the Earth's gravity, we can figure out -- with a little help from physics -- how far it ...
How fast can a ball go on the moon?
You can make the ball go twice that speed! How? Just make sure you've got a club head that's much more massive than the ball, and that you've got an elastic collision, and you're in business! So let's say you can give the ball an initial speed of 180 miles per hour (80 m/s) on the Moon.
How fast can a golf club go?
Well, you can measure the speed of a golf club without too much problem. Even a typical amateur golfer can swing a club at 90 miles per hour (40 m/s). Does that mean the ball goes off at that speed?
Who was the first person to golf on another planet?
Along with Stuart Roosa (left) and Edgar Mitchel (right), commander Alan Shepard (center) became the first man to golf on another planet.
Is it possible to golf on the moon?
In fact, it's totally conceivable that Alan Shepard's one-armed, 6-iron shot on the Moon holds the record for the farthest golf shot in the history of humanity! So surprisingly, the answer is yes, miles and miles and miles is totally realistic for a golf shot on the Moon!
How far can a golfer hit the moon?
Saunders, whose forthcoming book is entitled Apollo Remastered, estimates that a professional US Open golfer like Bryson DeChambeau could, in theory, hit a ball as far as 3.41 miles on the Moon, with a hang time of 1 minute 22 seconds—much farther (and longer) than Shepard's feat. As he told the BBC:
Who hit the golf balls on the moon?
NASA / JSC / ASU / Andy Saunders. Fifty years ago this week, NASA astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. made space history when he took a few golf swings on the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission, successfully hitting two golf balls across the lunar surface. Space enthusiasts have debated for decades just how far that second ball traveled.
What was Apollo 14's stick?
The stick is part of the United States Golf Association Moon shot collection in its museum. On February 6, Shepard brought out the club and two balls.
How far did the first golf ball shepard hit?
Saunders concluded that the first golf ball Shepard hit traveled roughly 24 yards, while the second golf ball traveled 40 yards. Shepard's fondness for cheeky irreverence had popped up ...
How far did the Apollo 14 golf ball travel?
50 years ago, the Apollo 14 astronaut hit a golf ball that traveled roughly 40 yards. Enlarge / This image consists of six photographs taken from the Apollo 14 Lunar Module, enhanced and stitched into a single panorama to show the landing scene, along with the location from where Alan Shepard hit two golf balls.
Where did Bob Hope golf?
The idea for Shepard's golfing stunt came out of a 1970 visit by comedian Bob Hope to NASA headquarters in Houston. An avid golfer, Hope cracked a joke about hitting a golf ball on the Moon, and Shepard thought it would be an excellent means of conveying to people watching back on Earth the difference in the strength of gravity. So he paid a pro named Jack Harden at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston to adapt a Wilson Staff 6-iron head so that it could be attached to a collapsible aluminum and Teflon sample collector. Once NASA's Technical Services division added some finishing touches, Shepard practiced his golf swing at a course in Houston while wearing his 200-plus-pound spacesuit to prepare.
Who was the first person to go to space?
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin famously became the first man in space on April 12, 1961, thanks to repeated postponements of NASA's Mercury mission, but Shepard wasn't far behind. He made his own flight into space one month later, on May 5.
What was the clubhead shepard on Apollo 14?
The clubhead Shepard sneaked on board Apollo 14 in a sock and the implement he attached it to - this image is reproduced courtesy of the United States Golf Association which has the item in its museum as part of the Moon shot collection.
What was the name of the solar wind experiment that Edgar Mitchell hurled?
Movie footage from the Lunar Module in 1971 was used to identify both balls. The 'Javelin' was a pole from a solar wind experiment, hurled by crewmate Edgar Mitchell. Andy Saunders is an imaging specialist and author of the upcoming book Apollo Remastered.
Who was the only person to hit a golf ball on the moon?
Decades after the historic golf excursion, Shepard still had pride in the accomplishment. "So far I'm the only person to have hit a golf ball on the moon. Probably will be for some time," he told NASA in the February 1998 oral history, a few months before his death at age 74.
Why did Hope golf on the moon?
Hope took his golf club everywhere, according to the USGA, and Shepard was inspired to do a quick golf session on the moon to demonstrate the moon's gravitational pull, which is one-sixth that of Earth, according to NASA. Shepard, the commander of Apollo 14 and a long-time NASA astronaut, used his connections to discreetly ask for help keeping ...
How far can a male golfer drive?
By comparison, a 2019 report using golf tournaments' gender categories shows that an average amateur male golfer on Earth can drive the ball 216 yards (198 m), and an average female golfer 148 yards (135 m), although those distances have increased significantly since Shepard's flight.
Who said there was no way to go to the moon?
Shepard, however, explained the golf club's construction to Gilruth and then made the director a promise. Apollo 14 astronauts Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard practice deploying equipment before their trip to the moon.
When did Bob Hope get the idea for the moonshot?
Click here for more Space.com videos... Sorry, the video player failed to load. (Error Code: 100013) Shepard got the idea for his golf moonshot in 1970, when famed golfer Bob Hope visited NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC, now Johnson Space Center) in Houston, the training hub for astronauts, for a television special.
Who was the commander of Apollo 14?
Shepard, the commander of Apollo 14 and a long-time NASA astronaut, used his connections to discreetly ask for help keeping the plan a surprise. Jack Harden, the pro at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, made the clubhead.
Did Apollo 14 play golf on the moon?
50 years ago, an Apollo 14 astronaut played golf on the moon. Here's the inside story. A still from video footage shows NASA astronaut Alan Shepard preparing to hit a golf ball on the moon. By this point in the moonwalk, the astronauts had already put away the still-photograph cameras. (Image credit: NASA)