Thaindian News

Washington, Feb 5 (ANI): Lunar module pilot of Apollo 14 Ed Mitchell has recalled the first lunar Olympics that had taken place between him and late Alan Shepard 40-years ago on the moon.

On February 6, 40-years ago, Shepard had famously hit golf balls with a modified six-iron, and Mitchell, 80, had thrown a javelin.

“That was the first lunar Olympics,” ABC News quoted Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, as saying.

Shepard, who died in 1998, and Mitchell were on the moon to conduct science experiments. They conducted two moonwalks, or EVA’s, over two days, but just before they left the surface they decided to have some fun.

“We had very little time, just a few seconds to pull that off, less than a minute or so,” Mitchell said.

“Shepard hit his golf ball, after three whacks at it… I threw a javelin, using a staff from the solar wind experiment,” he revealed.

As Shepard struck the ball, he joked on the radio that his shot went “miles and miles”, but Mitchell is still setting the record straight.

While Shepard’s golf swing is most-often remembered in the history books, Mitchell’s javelin throw actually went further.

“By about 4 inches,” Mitchell said with a laugh.

“His golf hit didn’t go very far either, simply because he was swinging one-handed in a pressure suit,” he added.

The golf ball and javelin are still on the lunar surface, but Shepard’s special six iron is now on display at the USGA Golf House in Far Hills, N.J. (ANI)