Alan Shepard, the first American in space, participated in a total of two space missions during his career with NASA.
The first mission was Mercury-Redstone 3, also known as Freedom 7, which took place on May 5, 1961. During this historic flight, Shepard spent 15 minutes in space, reaching an altitude of 116.5 miles, and his journey helped to pave the way for future manned space flights.
His second mission was Apollo 14, which launched on January 31, 1971. This mission was particularly significant as Shepard became the fifth person to walk on the moon. He and his fellow astronaut Edgar Mitchell spent approximately 33 hours on the lunar surface conducting experiments and collecting samples.
In summary, Alan Shepard’s contributions to space exploration were monumental, and he participated in two key missions that helped shape the future of NASA and space travel.