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.
Did Alan Shepard hit a golf ball 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.
Why did Shepard bring a golf club to space?
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. “It was a pretty big deal for him to sneak the club-head and golf balls into space!” said Lagle.
Can you hit a golf ball on the Moon?
Like all golfers, Shepard couldn't resist a bit of boasting. "Miles and miles and miles," he declared as he watched the second shot sail away on its long arc across the lunar surface. 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.
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Has anyone played golf in space?
Here's the inside story. 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.
Who was the first person to play golf on the moon?
It 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.
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 Neil Armstrong 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.
What happened to the golf ball hit on the moon?
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 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. The club featured a clubhead attached to a retractable teflon shaft ordinarily used on a device to collect soil samples.
How old was Alan Shepard when he walked on the moon?
age 47At 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.
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.
Is the American flag still on the moon?
Images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have shown that the American flags left on the Moon by Apollo astronauts are still standing– except for the Apollo 11 mission, which Buzz Aldrin reported as being knocked over by engine exhaust as Apollo 11 lifted off.
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 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.
How far can 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!
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.
What was the top speed of the lunar rover?
about 8 mphThe rovers could reach a top speed of about 8 mph (about 13 kph), but the moon's cratered surface prevented the astronauts from driving too fast. "They weren't driving on flat land – it was more like a dirt buggy than anything else," he explained.
How many golf balls are there 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.
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?
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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.
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 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.
