Viral Scoop
news | August 14, 2026

Has anyone hit a golf ball in space?

Shepard took a few moments during the Apollo 14 landing to show off his hobby during a live broadcast from the lunar surface on Feb. 6, 1971. He took two shots, with the second ball going "miles and mile," he said on-camera. He was exaggerating, according to new analysis from the United States Golf Association (USGA).

Has anyone ever hit a golf ball on the moon?

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.

How far could you hit a golf ball on the moon?

On the moon, with a gravity acceleration six times smaller, the ball would travel six times further and land some 2km away, which is roughly 1.25 miles. “This is how far a professional golf player with modern equipment could hit a drive on the moon.

Who is the first astronaut that hit a golf ball 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.

How many golf balls did Alan Shepard hit on the moon?

Lunar Golfing

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.

16 related questions found

Does it hurt to get hit by a golf ball?

Golf balls hurt when you get hit with them, but the possibility of it being a life-threatening injury is usually rare.

Are there 3 golf balls 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!

What happens if astronaut floats away?

The astronaut would probably end up trapped in orbit around the Earth, far away from the International Space Station, until their oxygen supply ran out, or until the space suit gets a tear in it from space junk.

What did Alan Shepard do in space?

U.S. Navy test pilot Alan Shepard joined the astronaut program in 1959. He became the first American and the second man in space on May 5, 1961, when he piloted the Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7 on a 490-kilometer (300-mile), 15-minute suborbital flight.

What did Apollo 14 discover?

Fast Facts: Apollo 14

Apollo 14's crew carried out the longest list of experiments on the lunar surface and in lunar orbit as of that time, demonstrated that reasonably long distances can be covered on foot on the Moon and brought back almost 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of lunar samples to Earth.

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.

Can you throw a baseball off 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.

Can you jump off the moon?

Although you can jump very high on the moon, you'll be happy to know that there's no need to worry about jumping all the way off into space. In fact, you'd need to be going very fast – more than 2 kilometres per second – to escape from the moon's surface.

How long would it take to fall from the moon to Earth?

If you cancelled out the moon's orbital velocity it would take a week to hit the earth. Hint: g isn't 9.8m/s that far out.

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.

Do harder golf balls go further?

The harder the ball, the further it tends to go with less spin. Harder golf balls tend to be much cheaper than softer golf balls. If you lose balls regularly then harder golf balls could be ideal for you. Soft balls stick to the grooves of your irons and wedges and spin much more.

Which astronaut had Meniere's?

On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. piloted the Freedom 7 craft into a suborbital flight to become the first American man in space. His promising astronautical career was soon scuttled by spells of dizziness and tinnitus later diagnosed as Ménière's disease, until William F.

How cold is it in space?

Far outside our solar system and out past the distant reachers of our galaxy—in the vast nothingness of space—the distance between gas and dust particles grows, limiting their ability to transfer heat. Temperatures in these vacuous regions can plummet to about -455 degrees Fahrenheit (2.7 kelvin).

What does space smell like?

A succession of astronauts have described the smell as '… a rather pleasant metallic sensation ... [like] ... sweet-smelling welding fumes', 'burning metal', 'a distinct odour of ozone, an acrid smell', 'walnuts and brake pads', 'gunpowder' and even 'burnt almond cookie'.

Would a body rot in space?

In space we can assume that there would be no external organisms such as insects and fungi to break down the body, but we still carry plenty of bacteria with us. Left unchecked, these would rapidly multiply and cause putrefaction of a corpse on board the shuttle or the ISS.

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 lost per year?

An estimated 300 million golf balls are lost or discarded in the United States every year, according to research by the Danish Golf Union. Because it can take golf balls 100 to 1,000 years to decompose, scientists say, they present a major environmental risk to the planet.

How many golf balls fit in a 747?

At three cubic inches per ball, a 747 could hold 10,368,000 balls. However, spheres do not fit perfectly together.