NASA Planned Moon Soccer Ball Launch If US Won World Cup
NASA planned to send a World Cup soccer ball to the moon if the US won the 2026 tournament, but the dream ended when America lost to Belgium 1-4 in the Round of 16.
According to Space.com, NASA had planned to send a soccer ball from the 2026 FIFA World Cup to the moon if the United States won the championship. However, that dream came to an end before the Round of 16 match between the US and Belgium began.
Before the game kicked off, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, "This would have been a little push for Team USA. We were aiming to go one step further than Alan Shepard, who played golf on the lunar surface. We would have brought a soccer ball there instead."
This incident occurred in 1971 when Shepard secretly brought two golf balls and a modified golf club aboard the Apollo 14 mission, making him the only NASA astronaut to play golf on the moon. However, the football mission was officially approved by NASA. "I don't yet know which landing vehicle it would have gone on," Isaacman said.
Regardless, the plan appears to have fallen through. The United States lost to Belgium 4-1 in the Round of 16 of the World Cup.
