Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. became the first American astronaut to reach space on May 5, 1961. In 1959, he joined NASA’s Mercury Seven, a group of seven astronauts selected to fly to space. Shepard reached around 186 km above Earth and completed a 15-minute suborbital flight. Then, he became the fifth and oldest astronaut to walk on the Moon in 1971, at age 47. He even set a unique record by playing golf on the lunar surface during the Apollo 14 mission!
Sean Jung R&D Division Director kids/1731638263/1613368200
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. became the first American astronaut to reach space on May 5, 1961. In 1959, he joined NASA’s Mercury Seven, a group of seven astronauts selected to fly to space. Shepard reached around 186 km above Earth and completed a 15-minute suborbital flight. Then, he became the fifth and oldest astronaut to walk on the Moon in 1971, at age 47. He even set a unique record by playing golf on the lunar surface during the Apollo 14 mission!