Who was the first person to play golf in space?
In February 1971, Alan Shepard became the first person to play golf in space. On February 6, 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the moon, the first and only person to take the game to the stars. Golfers go to great lengths to play, but no man has gone farther than Shepard, who trekked to the moon in 1971.
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.
What golf ball did Alan Shepard hit on the Moon?
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. “The second one, I kept my head down.
Did astronaut Alan Shepard hit the most fabled shot in history?
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 the most fabled shot in history.
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.
How far did Alan Shepard's golf shot go?
Of course, he didn't mean that literally. 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 Neil Armstrong play golf?
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 hit the golf ball in space?
astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr.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.
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.
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.
Who was the first person to play golf on the moon?
Alan ShepardIt was Alan Shepard, commander of Apollo 14, who was the first golfer on the moon. He was a keen amateur, and the 6-Iron he used is now in the US Golf association hall of fame.
Is the golf ball still on the moon?
Where Are They Now? Clearly the golf balls are still on the moon, but the clubhead is now living its life as a celebrity on Earth. Having been donated by Shepard, the moon golf club is on display in the USGA Golf Museum in Far Hills, New Jersey.
Why did they play 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.
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.
How far did the moon golf ball go?
The conclusion: the first ball went 24 yards and the second 40 yards, according to the research released on Friday. Saunders used high-resolution scans of the actual original flight film and other image enhancement techniques to come to the conclusion. The makeshift golf club resides in the USGA Golf Museum.
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.
How far did the golf ball on the moon go?
He was exaggerating, according to new analysis from the United States Golf Association (USGA). Based on data from the crew and a modern-day moon mission, the group found that the first ball traveled 24 yards (22 meters) and the second about 40 yards (37 m).
How far could you hit 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.
How far can you hit a golf ball?
While professional golfers can hit their drivers well over 300 yards, a typical male golfer will hit his driver anywhere from between 230 and 290 yards depending on his skill level. Women will hit the ball 230 yards on a great drive but most will hit it less than 200.
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Who hit the golf ball 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)
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.
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.
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 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 ...
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)
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.
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.
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 ...
Who was the first American astronaut to land in space?
This article is more than 2 years old. 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. Apollo 14 commander Shepard was the first American astronaut in space, but today he's almost as well known as ...
How much personal gear can Apollo astronauts take?
Apollo astronauts were allowed to take 5 pounds of personal gear each into space aboard the Command Service Module, and they could take half a pound each to the lunar surface aboard the Lunar Module, but those items had to be approved by NASA, and Gilruth was skeptical about Shepard's golf idea.
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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 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.
