Alan Shepard smacked golf balls on the Moon — and now we know where they landed. When the Apollo astronaut said his second shot went “miles and miles and miles,” that was a bit of an exaggeration. In the annals of golf history, Alan Shepard’s shots from the lunar sand may be the most famous swings ever taken.
Beside the above, what happened to the golf ball that Alan Shepard hit on the moon? 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. USGA MuseumShepard donated the club to the USGA Museum in New Jersey in 1974.
Likewise, has anyone played golf on the moon? It wasn’t Neil Armstrong, it was Alan Shepard of Apollo 14 who played golf on the moon. The “club” he used was a contingency sample extension handle with a no 6 iron head attached. Each astronaut was allocated a certain amount of weight for personal items. Shepard used his to take the club head and three golf balls.
In regards to, has any golf ball been hit 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!
Additionally, who is the only golfer to hit a ball on the moon?
Did Alan Shepard go to the moon?
Two trips, a decade apart, spanned the most exciting era in space history. 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.
Did Alan Shepard played golf on the moon?
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.
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 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.
What is the only sport to have been played on the moon?
What was the first sport played on the moon? That would be golf. In 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard swung a makeshift 6-iron on the moon’s surface — and missed the ball. His second swing, however, connected, and the golf ball went flying “miles and miles and miles,” as Shepard put it after his swing.
How many golf balls are on the moon?
There are two golf balls on the moon. They were taken there by Alan Shepard in 1971, during the Apollo 14 mission. Shepard was the first American into space, and the fifth person to ever walk on the moon… but most impressively, he was the first (and only) person to ever play golf outside of the earth’s atmosphere!
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.
Who has walked on the moon?
Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the first of 12 human beings who walked on the Moon. Four of America’s moonwalkers are still alive: Aldrin (Apollo 11), David Scott (Apollo 15), Charles Duke (Apollo 16), and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17).
How high can you jump on the moon?
The Moon’s gravity at the surface is only 17 percent that of Earth’s. Using the same force of a jump on Earth, you could rise about 3 metres (10 feet) off the ground and stay in the air for about 4 seconds.
How long would it take to fall from the moon to Earth?
a human could fall from the distance of the moon to the earth in about 5 days.
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! So there you have it.
Did Alan Shepard adopt his niece?
The real Alan Shepard and Louise Shepard had two daughters, Laura and Julie. Following the death of Louise’s sister in 1956, Shepard and his wife raised Louise’s five-year-old niece, Judith Williams. Worried about having both a Julie and a Judy, the Shepards renamed Judith “Alice.”
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!
What golf club was used 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.
Where did Apollo 14 land on the moon?
The Apollo 14 landing site was located at 3.65 south latitude 17.47 west longitude, about 30 miles (49.3 km) north of the Fra Mauro crater–the same site selected for the aborted Apollo 13 mission.
What was the top speed of the lunar rover?
The 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.
What is the only sport that Cannot be played left handed?
The answer to this is – field hockey, polo, and jai alai. Yes, there are 3 sports that don’t allow left-handed play. While it is not practical to play jai alai left-handed, you are banned from playing field hockey and polo left-handed due to safety concerns.
What 2 sports were on the moon?
Golf is one of the two only sports to be played on the moon. On February 6, 1971, astronaut and golfer Alan Shepard turned the Apollo 14 landing site into a driving range, performing a one-handed swing with a six-iron, sending the ball flying through the moon’s low-gravity atmosphere.
Who played soccer 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.
How many dimples are on a golf ball?
Most golf balls have between 300 and 500 dimples, which have an average depth of about 0.010 inch. The lift and drag forces on a golf ball are very sensitive to dimple depth: a depth change of 0.001 inch can produce a radical change to the ball’s trajectory and the overall distance it can fly.
Is Titleist American?
Titleist (pronounced /ˈtaɪtəlɪst/ “title-ist”) is an American brand name of golf equipment produced by the Acushnet Company, headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, United States. The Titleist brand, established in 1932 by Phillip E. Young, focuses on golf balls and clubs.
How many golf balls exist?
85 inches is the radius of a golf ball. Divide that 2.5 cubic inches into 1.6 million and you come up with 660,000 golf balls.
Do your balls float in space?
Chiao: Correct. They’re globules that are floating and you’re floating. MH: And you can’t just grab a globule, because it won’t come with you. It’ll just break off into smaller globules.
Will the moon eventually crash into the Earth?
Short answer: Technically it’s possible that the Earth and Moon could collide in the very distant future, but it’s very unlikely. It’s certainly not going to happen while any of us are alive. Long answer: The Moon is in a stable orbit around Earth.
Is the US flag still on the Moon?
Images taken by a Nasa spacecraft show that the American flags planted in the Moon’s soil by Apollo astronauts are mostly still standing. The photos from Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter (LRO) show the flags are still casting shadows – except the one planted during the Apollo 11 mission.
Who is the first woman to walk on the Moon?
Only 12 humans, all men, have ever walked on the Moon; all human Moon missions were part of the U.S. Apollo program between 1969 and 1972. No woman has ever walked on the Moon.