Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Contact    |    RSS icon Twitter icon Facebook icon  
Unexplained Mysteries
You are viewing: Home > News > Space & Astronomy > News story
Welcome Guest ( Login or Register )  
All ▾
Search Submit

Space & Astronomy

Golf on the Moon: 50 years since Apollo 14

By T.K. Randall
February 6, 2021 · Comment icon 3 comments

Shepard wielding his makeshift golf club on the Moon. Image Credit: NASA
Astronaut Alan Shepard's golf ball has been spotted on the Moon at last thanks to new remastered images.
On January 31st, 1971, Commander Alan Shepard, Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a daring mission to the lunar surface.

It was the third US mission to land humans on the Moon with Mitchell and Shepard touching down in the lunar highlands on February 5th before eventually returning to Earth on February 9th.

Just before departure however, the mission had taken a rather surreal turn when Shepard produced two golf balls and revealed that one of the tools he was holding was actually a makeshift golf club.

"Houston, you might recognize what I have in my hand as the contingency sample return; it just so happens to have a genuine 6-iron on the bottom of it," he said.

"In my left hand, I have a little white pellet that's familiar to millions of Americans."
It took him three swings to send the first ball around 24 yards, however his second shot flew much further - prompting him to comment that it had traveled "for miles and miles and miles".

Exactly how far this second ball had gone however would go on to remain a mystery for 50 years.

It wasn't until imaging specialist Andy Saunders digitally enhanced archival images from the mission that the final resting place of the ball - and subsequently the distance it had traveled - was revealed.

Contrary to Shepard's claim at the time, the second ball had only moved about 40ft.

Still, not bad for someone in a restrictive, 200lb+ space suit swinging a makeshift club with one hand.

Source: Phys.org | Comments (3)




Other news and articles
Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by Jon the frog 4 years ago
Do Alan Shepard was a fisherman ?
Comment icon #2 Posted by jethrofloyd 4 years ago
That ball came from Saturn.
Comment icon #3 Posted by Still Waters 1 year ago
https://www.iflscience.com/half-a-century-after-he-hit-it-alan-shepards-golf-ball-was-found-on-the-moon-69868


Please Login or Register to post a comment.


Our new book is out now!
Book cover

The Unexplained Mysteries
Book of Weird News

 AVAILABLE NOW 

Take a walk on the weird side with this compilation of some of the weirdest stories ever to grace the pages of a newspaper.

Click here to learn more

We need your help!
Patreon logo

Support us on Patreon

 BONUS CONTENT 

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can gain access to a wide range of exclusive perks including our popular 'Lost Ghost Stories' series.

Click here to learn more

Recent news and articles