The first American in space and the oldest astronaut at the time of his flight Apollo 14, Alan Shepard was also the only person to play golf on the moon. Credit: NASA
Takeaway Keyway:
- Alan Shepard was a navy pilot who became one of NASA’s first astronauts.
- He was the first American in space.
- Later he commanded the Apollo 14 mission, landing on the moon.
- He played golf on the moon notoriously.
Born in New Hampshire in 1923, Alan Shepard served in the Navy during the Second World War, subsequently entering the flight training and graduating from the Marina Test Pilot School in 1951. In 1959, it was selected for the Mercury project as one of the first seven American astronauts, together with Gil Gilsom, Deke Slayton and John Glenn. On May 5, 1961, Shepard became the first American in space; His flight on freedom 7 lasted 15 minutes and reached an altitude of 116 miles (188 kilometers). Ten years later, he was commander of Apollo 14, landing on the Moon as the oldest astronaut of NASA at the time. He also became the only man to play golf on the moon when he hit a golf ball with a lunar sampling tool that he had changed with a 6 iron head. He retired from NASA and the Navy in 1974 and continued to work in the private sector and as president of Mercury 7 Foundation, disappearing on July 21, 1998.
