The fate of the US flag left behind during the Apollo mission

The fate of the US flag left behind during the Apollo mission

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When the Apollo mission succeeded in setting foot on the Moon in 1969, astronauts planted the United States flag on this earth's satellite. Not only once, quoted from the Space page on Thursday (19/09/2024), astronauts also planted the flag on the Moon in subsequent Apollo missions.

There were a total of six different flags on the Moon during the Apollo missions. Decades after the flag was installed, many people are curious about its condition now.

Launching the IFL Science page on Thursday (19/09/2024), NASA has a solution so that humans can see the Apollo mission flag, namely using the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

The spacecraft orbits the moon and monitors it. In doing so, the probe was able to see the shadow cast by the flag left on the Moon's surface.

According to NASA, from photos taken by SHIOWLA in recent years, we can confirm that the flags left behind by the Apollo 12, 16, and 17 missions appear to still be standing. Unfortunately not the first flag left behind by the Apollo 11 mission.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin himself said that he saw the flag fall during takeoff. This appears to be supported by LRO who has not been able to see it.

Meanwhile, the flags left behind by the Apollo 14 and 15 missions are not convincing. Because LRO cannot see in sufficient detail.

A lot of trash left behind by humans

However, there are still many other things left on the Moon, ultimately becoming human waste left behind. For example, about what happened to the 96 bags of human waste left on the Moon.

Even though it was discovered and brought back to Earth for analysis, it was called by NASA one of the strangest experiments ever carried out by scientists. It's just that scientists can still make some educated guesses about other objects.

History of the Apollo Missions

The Apollo program was originally conceived as a continuation of the Mercury Program, which aimed to carry out manned Earth-orbiting missions. However, President Kennedy changed the direction of this program to landing humans on the Moon.

The first manned Apollo mission, Apollo 1, was planned for launch in 1967. However, tragedy struck when a fire broke out in the command module during testing, killing three astronauts, namely Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee.

This incident prompted NASA to make major improvements in the safety and design aspects of the spacecraft. After the Apollo 1 incident, NASA continued the program with Apollo 7, which launched on October 11, 1968.

This mission was the first manned mission to successfully test Apollo aircraft systems. Launched on December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to orbit the Moon.

The astronauts, namely Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, took the famous photo of the Earth from the moon and said a Christmas message from the Moon's orbit.

One example is a framed family photo left on the Moon's surface by Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke. After 52 years of exposure to sunlight, it has most likely turned white.

Apollo 11 mission

On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission was the pinnacle of success for this program. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, while Michael Collins remained in orbit.

This mission not only succeeded in landing humans on the Moon, but also brought back lunar samples for research. After Apollo 11, NASA continued missions to the moon with Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

The Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions also introduced lunar rovers, which allowed astronauts to explore further than the landing site. Apollo 17, launched on December 7, 1972, was the last mission to take humans to the moon.

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