Tee Time on the Moon: How Astronaut Alan Shepard Played Lunar Golf

In 1971, Alan Shepard and his fellow astronauts went to the Moon in the Apollo 14 capsule. They studied the moon in detail and brought two golf balls with them. Shepard wanted to see how far a golf ball would go in low gravity, which led to an experiment that may have changed people's views on the moon.

Format: Hardback
Length: 40 pages
Publication date: 25 July 2023
Publisher: Astra Publishing House

In 1971, Alan Shepard and his fellow astronauts made their way to the Moon in the cramped Apollo 14 capsule. Their mission: Study the moon in more detail than ever before. While the world watched on TV, Shepard and Edgar Mitchell gathered rock and soil samples wearing stiff, heavy spacesuits. But Alan Shepard had a secret hidden in his sock: two tiny golf balls.

Golf was Shepard's favorite sport. And since the moon has virtually no atmosphere and gravity that is only a fraction of the Earth's, a golf ball should have been able to go far. But did it? Here's the little-known but true story of an experiment that may have started as a stunt, but ended up making people think differently about the moon, ask questions, and look for answers.

On February 5, 1971, Shepard and Mitchell took off from the Earth in their Apollo 14 capsule. They had a few hours to rest and prepare for their lunar landing before they would have to put on their spacesuits and make the final descent to the moon's surface. As they were getting ready, Shepard pulled out his two golf balls and tucked them into his sock. He knew that the moon's gravity was only a fraction of what it was on Earth, so he was curious to see how far the golf balls would go.

When Shepard and Mitchell landed on the moon, they immediately set up their equipment and began gathering rock and soil samples. They worked for several hours, taking in the breathtaking view of the moon's surface. But as they were finishing up, Shepard couldn't resist the temptation to try out his golf balls. He pulled out his sock and took a few swings, sending the golf balls flying through the air.

To Shepard's surprise, the golf balls flew far further than he had expected. They flew for what seemed like an eternity, before finally landing on the moon's surface. Shepard and Mitchell were amazed by the results of their experiment. They had never seen anything like it before. They knew that their discovery would change the way people thought about the moon and inspire future generations of scientists and astronauts.

The golf balls that Shepard and Mitchell left on the moon are still there today. They have become a symbol of the human spirit and the power of curiosity. They have inspired countless people to explore the moon and beyond, and to never stop asking questions and looking for answers. The experiment that Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell conducted on the moon may have started as a stunt, but it ended up being one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time.

Weight: 502g
Dimension: 285 x 240 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781662680175