Golf is a popular sport all over the world. Where was the most famous golf game played? Who played it? If you thought it was some legendary player like Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus, you are wrong. Alan Shepard, the American space agency NASA traveler, played that world famous golf. Shepad’s game was not here, not even on Earth. It was on the moon.
On February 6, 1971, Apollo 14, one of the last missions of NASA’s mission series that brought man to the moon, landed on the moon. The commander of the mission was the experienced Alan Shepard.
Shepad, who is fond of golf and a bit mischievous, thought of playing a little golf to change the boredom of the moon. He has two balls in his hand, but if he wants to play golf, he also needs a stick, a golf club. Shepard brought the curved shape to the shafts of standard golf clubs from Earth. Once it is attached to the long rod of a tool used to pick up rocks from the moon, the golf club is ready.
Shepard thought he might play golf, but he needed permission from the mission’s director, Bob Gilruth. Gilruth did not agree to this at first. What is the reason? The Apollo missions, which cost billions of dollars, caused a great stir at first, but by the time the final missions were over, people’s interest in them had waned.
It was a time when American citizens started asking the question why they always go to the moon with the money raised by the people when there are many problems to solve in the country. Along with that, NASA was afraid that if they played golf on the moon, they would be criticized that they sent a man there as a joke.
With Shepad’s insistence, Gilruth gave half consent. That was enough for Shepad. But playing golf on the moon is not as easy as playing golf on Earth. With only one-sixth the gravity of Earth, and a very thin atmosphere, hitting a ball on the moon is impossible. However, the stubborn Shepad was determined. He spent days on the moon practicing to swing the club.
Finally, Shepad decided to achieve his goal before the Apollo 14 mission vehicle flew back from the moon. He hit a golf ball on the lunar surface with his club. The first attempt was unsuccessful.
Shepad placed the second ball in his hand on the lunar soil for the third attempt.
Shepad said about this later that the ball flew kilometers and fell somewhere far away. The golf club that Shepard handed over to NASA is still kept in the museum today. Many people come here every year to see this. NASA also released a video of Shepard playing golf on the moon. This is a very popular video.
– A little pushed
But on the fiftieth anniversary of this golf game, some new information has come out about it. Andy Sanders, an image specialist, has made a study of high-definition nasal images about this.
Using special software from these images, Sanders also located the two balls that Shepad had hit. The first ball traveled a distance of 22 meters. The second ball that flew by kilometers?
It didn’t go any miles, just 36 meters that famous ball traveled. The rest is Shepard’s mistake or a bit of bragging. But Shepad has nothing to worry about. Playing golf on the moon is a huge achievement.
2023-08-19 06:45:44
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