Which Astronaut hit two golf balls on the Moon?
That distinction belongs to a NASA astronaut. Apollo 14 commander Alan B. Shepard hit two golf balls on the surface of the Moon on Feb. 6, 1971. Shepard talked to the United States Golf Association (USGA) about those infamous shots.
Who was the first person to play golf on the Moon?
50 years ago, an Apollo 14 astronaut played golf on the moon. Here's the inside story. | Space 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.
What happened to the 2 balls Alan Shepard hit on the Moon?
On February 6, 1971, the Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard hit two golf balls across the lunar surface. Credit: NASA The head traveled to the Moon in a sock. Once Shepard assembled his club, it wasn’t exactly plain sailing. 2 balls received a low gravity whack.
Did you know astronaut Alan Shepard played golf on the Moon?
Most golfers really want to avoid sand traps, but NASA astronaut Alan Shepard had no choice but to deal with one when wielding a six-iron head on the moon's dusty surface 50 years ago this month. Shepard 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.
Who is the first man to play golf on the moon?
Alan ShepardThe 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.
What happened to the golf ball Alan Shepard hit on the moon?
Though it took Shepard a minute to get the hang of it, he eventually sent his second ball flying for what he believed was “miles and miles and miles.” Now, a NASA digital image restorer thinks he's relocated one of those balls, and as it turns out, it didn't go for miles.
Did Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the moon?
“50 years ago today Derry Native and Apollo 14 commander, Alan B. Shepard, famously hit two golf balls on the surface of the Moon on February 6, 1971!
How far did Alan Shepard's golf shot go on the moon?
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).
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.
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!
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.
Who is the man hitting a golf ball on the moon?
Could somebody theoretically hit a ball hard enough to make it leave the moon altogether?" One can make a golf ball travel for quite a distance on the moon for two reasons.
What brand of golf ball was hit on the moon?
Wilson six-ironShepard Jr. used to hit two golf balls on the Moon during Apollo 14 in February 1971. Shepard carried the modified Wilson six-iron in his spacesuit pocket, afixing the club head to the handle of a contingency sample return device.
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.
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.
Are there 3 golf balls on the moon?
Because of his unprecedented achievement, Shepard's golf club was placed in the Smithsonian, where it still resides today. How many golf balls are on the moon? There are two golf balls on the moon, placed there by Alan Shepard, a NASA astronaut in the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.
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.
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)
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 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.
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.
Who hit the first golf ball on the moon?
That distinction belongs to a NASA astronaut. Apollo 14 commander Alan B. Shepard hit two golf balls on the surface of the Moon on Feb. 6, 1971. Shepard talked to the United States Golf Association (USGA) about those infamous shots. “I shanked the first one; it rolled into a crater about 40 yards way,” said Shepard.
Who tricked NASA?
Moon golf: How Astronaut Alan Shepard tricked NASA. The ingenious journey that Astronaut Alan Shepard had to take to sneak a golf club and golf balls into space and onto the moon. When you think of golf, legendary players like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and Bobby Jones may come to mind. None of those legends, however, hit arguably ...
Did the astronauts take golf clubs on Apollo 13?
Maggie Lagle, a historian for the USGA, told Fox News that NASA did not have a sense of humor after Apollo 13 and would not have let Shepard take a golf club on the mission, so Shepard snuck a club and balls into space with him.
Did Bing Crosby donate his club to the USGA?
Singer Bing Crosby helped convince Shepard to donate his club to the USGA’s museum in New Jersey. “Alan was a very avid golfer and he would actually participate in the Bing Crosby golf tournament,” said Lagle.
What is the most famous golf swing ever taken?
In the annals of golf history, Alan Shepard's shots from the lunar sand may be the most famous swings ever taken. And after 50 years, image analysts have finally determined how far his golf balls went.
How far did the ball go on the moon?
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).
Who hit a golf ball on the moon?
NASA astronaut Alan Shepard teed off from the pie in the sky on February 6, 1971.
When is the next scheduled manned trip to the moon?
NASA’s Artemis II mission is the next planned trip that will put humans near the moon–but not on it.
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)
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.
Where is the moon club?
While Shepard died in 1998 at the age of 74, his legacy lives on in the USGA Golf Museum and Library in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, where the moon club and the sock that contained the two golf balls brought to the moon are two of the museum’s most popular items alongside Bobby Jones’ famous Calamity Jane putter.
When was the second Apollo 14 mission?
kept his plan quiet. The mission came first. Apollo 14, Shepard’s second space flight as commander, was planned for Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, 1971. Two years after humans first landed on the moon, Shepard wouldn’t be the first astronaut in space or the first person to walk on the moon on this trip, ...
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.
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 ...
When did Apollo 14 launch?
Apollo 14 launched on Jan. 31. When there were no complications with the mission on Feb. 6, it was Shepard’s time to pay homage to the game he loved while demonstrating the physics of life in space, but a wrinkle arose in his plan due to the bulk of Shepard’s suit.
Where is the replica of the golf ball in the crater?
The original club used for the cosmic swings can be seen at USGA’s museum. A replica is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC.
Who hit the golf ball on the moon?
Credit: NASA/JSC/ASU/Andy Saunders. NASA astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr hit a golf ball on the Moon in 1971… but where did it go? The answer has been revealed for Apollo 14’s 50th anniversary, thanks to 21st century tech. One small step for Man and a hole in one for Mankind?
Who is the author of Apollo Remastered?
The result, due to be published in Saunders’ book ‘Apollo Remastered’, brings sporting and indeed spacing enthusiasts a clear picture of Shepard’s elusive golf ball. Even the divots on the lunar surface are picked out. Shepard never told anyone which brand of golf ball he used for his historic moon shots.. Credit: NASA/JSC/ASU/Andy Saunders.
Did the Moon have a breeze?
Down in Mission Control, Fred Haise famously quipped: “Looked like a slice to me Al.”. The second was a breeze – not that the Moon has a breeze. However its destination remained a mystery.
What happened to Apollo 14?
There was just one moment of serious concern: as Apollo 14 left its orbit around the Earth for the Moon, a docking probe failed to work , putting the mission's ability to return in jeopardy.
What rock did Apollo 15 bring back?
The next mission, Apollo 15, brought back more of the ancient white crystallised rock, including the Genesis Rock, thought to date back to the formation of the Moon thousands of millions of years ago.
What was the first mission to the moon?
Apollo 14 was the first of the so-called scientific missions to the Moon. Having conquered the technical difficulties of landing a man on the Moon and returning him to Earth, Nasa scientists could now concentrate on collecting data about the origins of the Moon itself.
How high is the cone crater?
One of their main scientific aims - a climb to the rim of the 400-foot (120 meters) high Cone Crater - had to be called off after Shepard registered a heartbeat of 150. Mitchell also found the climb difficult, saying it was "a darn hard climb to try rapidly. The soil is a bit thin and mushy and these suits are bulky".
Where did the Apollo 13 mission land?
The lunar module, known as Antares, landed within 87 feet (26 metres) of its target point just north of the rim of the Fra Mauro crater - the site originally planned for the aborted Apollo 13 mission.
When will astronauts return to the moon?
In January 2004 however, US President George Bush announced American astronauts would return to the Moon by 2020 as the launching point for journeys further into space.
Who was the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon?
There were also light-hearted moments. At the end of today's moonwalk, Alan Shepard became the first man to hit a golfball on the Moon, using a ball and golf club head he had smuggled on board inside his space suit. He hit two balls just before lift-off, and drove them, as he put it, "miles and miles and miles". Major success.
