How far did Alan Shepard hit the golf ball on the Moon?
Remastered images reveal how far Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the Moon 50 years ago, the Apollo 14 astronaut hit a golf ball that traveled roughly 40 yards. Jennifer Ouellette - 2/4/2021, 6:12 PM
How far did Shepard's golf balls travel?
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 occasionally during his successful pre-NASA naval career, most notably when he was a test pilot at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.
How did Alan Shepard describe his one-handed swing?
Shepard described his one-handed swing as "an old sand-trap shot." On February 6, 1971, astronaut and golfer Alan Shepard turned the Apollo 14 landing site into a driving range.
What is Alan Shepard famous for?
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second man and the first American to travel into space, and in 1971, he walked on the Moon .
See more
How far did Alan Shepard's golf ball go?
But in the Moon's airless environment with just one-sixth the gravity of Earth, Shepard later estimated that his modest pitch shot carried the ball about 200 yards (600 feet).
Did Alan Shepard sneak a golf club on the moon?
The Moon Club, a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead, weighing 16.5 ounces, that was carried by Alan Shepard onboard the Apollo 14 mission to the moon, as seen at the USGA Golf Museum.
How far could you drive a golf ball on the moon?
On the moon, with a gravity acceleration six times smaller, the ball would travel six times further and land some 2km away, which is roughly 1.25 miles. “This is how far a professional golf player with modern equipment could hit a drive on the moon.
Can you hit a golf ball from the moon to Earth?
There is no air resistance on the moon to slow the ball's travel. The faster one hits a golf ball, the farther it moves as no fluid resists it. As for making a ball leaving the moon altogether, well, a human truly couldn't. The moon's gravity is weaker than Earth's, but still quite strong.
Did Neil Armstrong leave a bracelet on the moon?
Roger Launius, the former NASA chief historian and a former senior curator at the National Air and Space Museum, agreed, saying, “there is no evidence to support the assertion that he left a bracelet of his daughter on the moon.” Though apparently fiction, the moment is a critical one.
Why was Alan Shepard removed from Apollo 13?
Shepard, Mitchell and Roosa were originally scheduled to fly Apollo 13 and were bumped to give Shepard more training time in the simulators before his return to space flight following treatment for Ménière's disease.
What's the farthest golf ball ever hit?
515 yardsThe world record recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest drive in a competition is 515 yards (471 m) by 64-year-old Mike Austin in 1974 at the US Senior National Open Qualifier with a 43.5" steel shafted persimmon wood driver.
What is the fastest golf ball ever hit?
After accepting an opportunity to work at the best testing facility in the world at Titleist Performance Institute, Winther became the fastest golfer ever recorded with a highly impressive ball speed record exceeding 225 mph.
Do harder golf balls go further?
The harder the ball, the further it tends to go with less spin. Harder golf balls tend to be much cheaper than softer golf balls. If you lose balls regularly then harder golf balls could be ideal for you. Soft balls stick to the grooves of your irons and wedges and spin much more.
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.
How many golf balls did Alan Shepard hit on the moon?
two shotsShepard took a few moments during the Apollo 14 landing to show off his hobby during a live broadcast from the lunar surface on Feb. 6, 1971. He took two shots, with the second ball going "miles and mile," he said on-camera. He was exaggerating, according to new analysis from the United States Golf Association (USGA).
How long does a golf ball stay in the air?
six to seven secondsUnfortunately, golf balls are required to spin to achieve the Magnus effect, allowing them to stay in the air for six to seven seconds (average drive hang time).
What happened to the golf ball that Alan Shepard hit on the moon?
Shepard brought two balls with him. The first ball he only skimmed, and it was easily recovered by colleague Edgar Mitchell in a nearby crater. By the second ball, Shepard had gotten the hang of it and sent it flying. That ball then remained missing for half a century.
Where is the golf club that was on the moon?
the United States Golf Association MuseumYou might think both the sock and club would have ended up in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, but the club on display there is actually a replica. The real Shepard club along with that traveling sock are actually held by the United States Golf Association Museum in Far Hills, New Jersey.
What did Alan Shepard do on the moon?
At age 47, he became the fifth, the oldest, and the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to walk on the Moon. During the mission, he hit two golf balls on the lunar surface.
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!
Who is Andy Saunders?
Andy Saunders is an imaging specialist and author of the upcoming book “Apollo Remastered.”.
Why did the ball travel farther than it would have on Earth?
And due to the one-sixth gravity and lack of atmosphere, the ball traveled significantly farther than it would have on Earth. The absence of aerodynamic forces on the ball, and lack of the spin-induced “magnus effect” caused by the ball’s dimples, meant that it followed a perfectly parabolic flight.
What is the USGA?
The USGA promotes and conserves the true spirit of the game of golf as embodied in its ancient and honorable traditions. It acts in the best interests of the game for the continued enjoyment of those who love and play it. The USGA: Celebrating 125 Years. GIVING.
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 ...
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.
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.
What was the name of the movie that was filmed in 1995?
Surgery four years later corrected the problem, and Shepard was cleared for flight. He narrowly missed being assigned to the famous Apollo 13 mission —NASA's "most successful failure" and the subject of the 1995 Oscar-winning film, Apollo 13 (one of my all-time faves).
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.
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.
When did the Shepard golf ball go to the Museum?
So he finally said okay.". Shepard donated the 6-iron to the U.S. Golf Association Museum in 1974. Those two golf balls aren't even the strangest thing we've left behind on the Moon, but they'd make a valuable prize for future lunar looters, and at the moment, they aren't legally protected.
What was the golf ball that Shepherd smuggled?
A space-age urban legend claims that Shepard smuggled the golf balls and 6-iron head aboard the Apollo 14 spacecraft, hidden under a sock in his personal gear.
How far away could you see golf balls?
It would have been a little easier in 1971, when the bright white of the golf balls would have stood out against the dark gray of the lunar surface; Columbia University astronomer Arlin Cotts told the Washington Post in 2013 that a sharp-eyed observer probably could have spotted them from 30 feet away.
How many yards is the average distance for a golfer on the moon?
That would have been an impressive shot on Earth, where the current record is 515 yards (set by Mike Austin in 1974, three years after Apollo 14), professionals still strive for 300-yard shots, and Golf Digest reported in 2017 that the median driving distance for golfers is 219.44 yards. On the Moon, it's a record that's gone unchallenged ...
Why did Ed Mitchell take two swings at the first ball?
In fact, he took two swings at the first ball, because the first swing connected with "more dirt than ball" on the first try, as he says in NASA's video; that first ball came to rest in nearby Javelin crater -- named for astronaut Ed Mitchell's own parting shot, a javelin-toss of the mission's solar collector wind staff.
Who was the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon?
Apollo 14 commander Shepard was the first American astronaut in space, but today he's almost as well known as the first -- and so far, only -- person to hit a golf ball on the Moon. Just before leaving the lunar surface in 1971, he attached a 6-iron golf club head to the foldable shaft of a lunar soil sampler and whacked two golf balls out into ...
Can you hit a golf ball on the moon?
On the Moon, with no air resistance and only about a sixth of Earth's gravity, it's technically possible to hit a golf ball for miles.
Who was the golfer that used golf to ride the moon?
The idea to use golf as the visual hit Shepard when famed comedian Bob Hope visited NASA prior to the mission. During the tour led by Shepard, Hope carried around an old driver and eventually used it for balance when he entered the moonwalker, simulating conditions on the moon.
What was the first golf shot on the moon?
The first golf shot on the moon came to life, rolling into a crater about 40 yards away. He had the hang of it now. Shepard dropped a second ball and swung again. Keeping his head down as much as he could, he made contact a second time.
How much does the moon club weigh?
The Moon Club, a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead, weighing 16.5 ounces, that was carried by Alan Shepard onboard the Apollo 14 mission to the moon as seen at the USGA Headquarters in Far Hills, NJ. (USGA/John Mummert)
Who was the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon?
A lover of golf who spent the later years of his life near Pebble Beach, California, Shepard brought two golf balls folded in a sock and a unique 6-iron of his own engineering to space 50 years ago, hoping to become the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. USGA senior historian Victoria Nenno recounts the idea came to Shepard as he was ...
Who carried the moon club?
The Moon Club, a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead carried by Alan Shepard onboard the Apollo 14 mission to the moon as seen on August 30, 2007 at the USGA Headquarters in Far Hills, NJ. (USGA/John Mummert) “Miles and miles and miles,” Shepard said as he watched it sail. “Very good, Al,” Haise said. It wasn’t really miles.
how did alan shepard die?
African-American physicist and mathematician Katherine Johnson calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard's first space flight by hand. When NASA used computers for the first time to calculate John Glenn's orbit around Earth, officials called on Johnson to verify its numbers.
what did alan shepard die of?
Because nobody had thought to put a diaper inside Alan Shepard's spacesuit during his Freedom 7 mission, he was forced to relieve himself directly into his suit after being in it for more than eight hours, shorting his medical electrodes.
Why is alan shepard famous?
You can easily fact check why did alan shepard die by examining the linked well-known sources.
How old is alan shepard?
Astronaut Alan Shepard used pictures of his face on a door so visitors can see his mood
How old was alan shepard when he died?
The five sons of Jeff Tracy in Thunderbirds were named after the first 5 American astronauts into space, via the Mercury space project (Scott Carpenter, Virgil Grissom, Alan Shepard, Gordon Cooper and John Glenn).
What is the new shepherd named after?
Blue Origin 's suborbital space tourism rocket, the New Shepard, is named after Shepard. In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Shepard was ranked as the ninth most popular space hero (tied with astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Gus Grissom).
Who was the first American to go to space?
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second man and the first American to travel into space, and in 1971, he walked on the Moon . A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Shepard saw action with ...
What was the first space traveler to manually control the orientation of his craft?
In the final stages of Project Mercury, Shepard was scheduled to pilot the Mercury-Atlas 10 (MA-10), which was planned as a three-day mission.
Who is Gus Grissom's widow?
In 1984, together with the other surviving Mercury astronauts, and Betty Grissom, Gus Grissom's widow, Shepard founded the Mercury Seven Foundation, which raises money to provide college scholarships to science and engineering students. It was renamed the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation in 1995.