Playing Golf on Mars? This is The First Person to Ever Play Golf on Mars

Apart from being an astronaut at NASA, Alan Shepard is a fan of the sport of Golf. NASA then appointed Alan Shepard as commander of the Apollo 14 spacecraft on the expedition to the Moon.

Prior to the departure of the expedition to the Moon with Apollo 14, Alan Shepard ordered 6 golf clubs designed to play Golf on the Moon, where Alan was wearing a stiff and heavy astronaut suit. It is not known exactly how much the golf club that has been designed and modified is, and who made it.

Exactly the day before Apollo 14 completed his mission on the Moon, Alan Shepard was playing Golf on the Moon. The first Golf shot failed because the tight and heavy astronaut suit made it difficult for Alan Shepard to hit perfectly. On the 2nd stroke Alan Shepard managed to make a perfect shot until the golf ball flew for miles in the gray moon sky.

On the Moon, the gravity of objects is only 1/6 of that on Earth, and the wind pressure is so low that a golf ball can fall for miles on the Moon’s land surface.

Alan Shepard did not realize beforehand that he held the record for the first person in the world, not just an American, to play golf on the Moon because technology at that time did not allow live broadcasts from space.

As revealed by Golf Digest, Alan Shepard’s golfing record has yet to be broken. Early 2019, Chinese probes ready to explore the other side of the moon. The Chinese Space Agency’s Chang’e-4 probe is reportedly ready to explore the other side of the Moon starting earlier this year. As reported by Geek from NPR, Thursday (3/1/2019), Chang’e-4 was launched in December 2018. The probe will land in the Aitkin Basin, a large crater located in the south polar region of the Moon.

Although China did not reveal the date of the Chang’e-4 landing, they have shared information regarding the probe’s work, one of the most vital of which will be to help astronomers study parts of the Moon that are invisible from Earth. The probe in the form of a rover with six wheels is equipped with cameras and radar that can detect the content of the Moon’s surface.

For your information, Chang’e-4 was launched on Saturday, December 9, 2018 from the Xichang satellite launch center, Sichuan, China. The probe is expected to land smoothly on the Moon, and be able to set a lunar exploration record by the Chinese Space Agency, CNSA.

Mission Chang’e-4
With the launch of Chang’e-4, China has a mission to be able to explore the other side of the Moon, including its land and surface components. The reason is, the other side that does not face the Earth is still a mystery and must be studied further.

“Soft landing and other side exploration has never been done before. Therefore, we will collect information regarding the surface and soil components of the Moon, as well as other scientific data that will help us further understand the characteristics of the Moon,” said Chang’e-4 Executive Director, Zhang He.

When Chang’e-4 lands on the other side of the Moon, the probe will also be tasked with several other scientific tasks. The tasks carried out include observing low-frequency radio astronomy, surveying land and surface forms, detecting mineral composition and structure, and measuring neutron radiation.

Source: merdeka.com