Fifty years ago this week, U.S. astronaut Alan P. Shepard Jr. was busy making space history.
Shepard, NASA’s Apollo 14 mission commander in 1971, was the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon.
What is less certain is how far the ball has traveled. First, it hit short. The second famously named man was described as having traveled “thousands and thousands and thousands”. But it has never been proven and has remained a mystery ever since.
But now, 50 years on, one imaging expert believes he has finally found the answer.
“As a result of these high-resolution scans of the recently released original flight film, and some digital augmentation technology, I was able to find the second member and unravel the mystery of how far it has gone, ”UK-based photos Expert Andy Saunders told The Cube, Euronews’ social media news desk.
Saunders said he was able to find the second ball in an image and estimated it only went about 36 meters.
“The distance was a bit disappointing, but it’s good to know [the ball] found, “Saunders added.
Researchers at the University of Southern Maine believe the ball could have remained above the surface for more than a minute, but due to the lunar low-lying environment, it would not have traveled for “miles and miles”.
This is not the first time Andrew has made headlines with his work.
For Neil Armstrong’s 50th lunar anniversary, he used image-enhancing techniques to bring life to life aboard the Nasa 13 Apollo spacecraft, a precision never seen before.