CarpeDiem
Challenge Tour Pro
There are three golf balls sitting on the moon.
An Out-Of-This World Drive!
Many moons ago, astronauts managed to sneak some pretty neat
stuff aboard their space capsules for trips to the moon, and
just orbiting the Earth. On one occasion, the oddities included
a corned beef sandwich from the local eatery where launch staff
often had lunch. Even in the initial stages of the space program
though, flight crew were forbidden to sell the things they took
with them, because of the "oddity" value that going into space
added to them.
Today, NASA hands out a nine-page "do not" list to potential
astronauts which strictly defines what they can take in their
PPK (personal preference kit), which must not weigh more than
1.5 pounds. Back in 1971 though, things were not quite so
hidebound. And besides, the duffer of the flight crew
had already gotten approval for the first golf game on the moon.
His only problem was where to store a golf club on the Apollo
XIV capsule. Unable to solve the dilemma, he cut the head off a
six iron and carried that in his pocket. When the initial hard
chores had been done on the moon's surface, Alan Shephard
fastened the golf club head to the bottom of a tool used for
gathering soil samples.
He then reached into his space suit for a golf ball. What he
wanted to do, was a simple demonstration that youngsters would
understand, to show what it meant to be in an atmosphere with
one-sixth the gravity of Earth. He naively figured that he was
going to be able to drive the golf ball six times the normal
distance of an Earth game. But his first shot bit right into the
dirt in front of him. A second swing got him a slice shot of two
or three feet. Shephard dropped a second ball, and maneuvering
in the bulky space suit, hit a shot that he enthusiastically
reported as having sailed "miles and miles".
He later admitted that it was really about 200-400 yards. But
just in case anyone else wants a shot, he left the balls behind
on the moon.
Pretty cool I think!
An Out-Of-This World Drive!
Many moons ago, astronauts managed to sneak some pretty neat
stuff aboard their space capsules for trips to the moon, and
just orbiting the Earth. On one occasion, the oddities included
a corned beef sandwich from the local eatery where launch staff
often had lunch. Even in the initial stages of the space program
though, flight crew were forbidden to sell the things they took
with them, because of the "oddity" value that going into space
added to them.
Today, NASA hands out a nine-page "do not" list to potential
astronauts which strictly defines what they can take in their
PPK (personal preference kit), which must not weigh more than
1.5 pounds. Back in 1971 though, things were not quite so
hidebound. And besides, the duffer of the flight crew
had already gotten approval for the first golf game on the moon.
His only problem was where to store a golf club on the Apollo
XIV capsule. Unable to solve the dilemma, he cut the head off a
six iron and carried that in his pocket. When the initial hard
chores had been done on the moon's surface, Alan Shephard
fastened the golf club head to the bottom of a tool used for
gathering soil samples.
He then reached into his space suit for a golf ball. What he
wanted to do, was a simple demonstration that youngsters would
understand, to show what it meant to be in an atmosphere with
one-sixth the gravity of Earth. He naively figured that he was
going to be able to drive the golf ball six times the normal
distance of an Earth game. But his first shot bit right into the
dirt in front of him. A second swing got him a slice shot of two
or three feet. Shephard dropped a second ball, and maneuvering
in the bulky space suit, hit a shot that he enthusiastically
reported as having sailed "miles and miles".
He later admitted that it was really about 200-400 yards. But
just in case anyone else wants a shot, he left the balls behind
on the moon.
Pretty cool I think!
