What Became of the American Flags Planted on the Moon During the Apollo Missions?

In July 1969, the United States won the space race against the USSR when Neil Armstrong uttered these words: “It's one small step for Man, one giant leap for Humanity”. The latter, accompanied by Buzz Aldrin, became the first human being to set foot on the Moon. A major feat in human history.

To mark their achievement, the Americans then planted their country's flag to mark the end of the space race and the victory of the Western bloc over the Soviet bloc. This was followed by other planting of flags during the various missions of the program Apollo. Left “abandoned” on the Moon for more than 50 years, what has become of these symbols today?

Flags with a particular design

Since the exploit ofApollo 11many theories have emerged to call for conspiracy and that ultimately we would not have walked on the Moon. All this would in fact be nothing more than a perfectly supervised production directed by one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema: Stanley Kubrick.

And one of the main arguments brought by the “theorists” was that the flag planted by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin seemed to be flying whereas “this is not possible since there is no air and therefore wind on the Moon”.

Apollo 11have NASA and the entire Western bloc been unmasked? Or did they simply use ingenuity to allow the flag to fly?

The answer is Anna Platoff, a renowned vexillologist (flag specialist) – and author in 1993 of the subcontracting report for NASA: “Where no flag has gone before: political and technical aspects of placing a flag on the moon” (Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Placing a Flag on the Moon) – who gives it away.

“They designed a flagpole with a horizontal bar allowing the flag to “fly” without the aid of wind to overcome the effects of the Moon's lack of atmosphere.” we can read in the report.

So, if the American flag seemed to be flying in the wind when it was placed, it was simply because it was hanging. This same process was then used five other times for the different missions of the program Apollo which ended in 1972. Problem solved and theory invalidated.

What happened to the American flags once the rockets returned to Earth?

If everything goes as planned, Humanity should set foot on the Moon in 2027. That is fifty-five years after the mission Apollo 17. It has been more than half a century since several American flags were planted on lunar soil.

When the mission Artemis III will travel to the Selene star, in what condition will the flags be found? Will they even be found at all?

In an interview given to SpaceAnne Platoff discusses her two hypotheses.

For the first, the vexillologist explains that the flags could have been damaged because of the Sun. “It is very likely that the nylon of the flag has degraded following prolonged exposure to sunlight.” a phenomenon she describes as “solar rot”.

For the second, which in no way excludes the first, she believes that the flags left on the Moon could have seen their condition deteriorate over time and could have been disintegrated due to the impact of meteorites on the lunar surface. .

In fact, there is a good chance that when the mission Artemis III finally arrives on the Moon, the mission flags Apollo are nothing more than shreds or are no longer there at all. Even if the Lunar Orbiter Reconnaissance (LRO) would have allowed NASA to estimate that the flags left during missions Apollo 12, 16 And 17 would still be standing.

But even so, that still won't mean that we didn't go to the Moon in July 1969 and that we plan to return there in the years to come.

Source : Space