What happened to the flags left on the Moon?

After about half a century, many people believed that the flags that humanity plugged into the Moon were gone.

The fate of the flags left on the Moon

In July 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft brought humans to the Moon for the first time, marking an historic event of all humanity. It can be said that the moment when Neil Armstrong put the American flag on the Moon was really a legendary moment.

Neil Armstrong's flag was inserted on July 21, 1969.

And in all the subsequent American moon trips, leaving an American flag was made as a tradition. Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 missions all left a flag before returning to Earth. NASA 'favored' this tradition of the 'Lunar Flag Assembly' .

The flag of Apollo 12 in 11/1969.

The flag of Apollo 14 on 2/1971.

Apollo 15 - August 1971.

Apollo's flag 16, April 1972.

'The youngest' came to Apollo 17, in December 1972.

So, have you ever wondered what the fate of these flags will be after their owners leave?

'Dissecting' characteristics of flags

In fact, these flags cannot exist for a long time. Because they are just flags made of ordinary nylon yarn, priced at about $ 5 (more than 110,000 VND at current exchange rates), bought in a company specializing in flag production.

For nearly half a century, Dennis Lacarruba - another employee at the production company also affirmed: 'I believe that flag does not have any traces left. Honestly, only the ashes remain. '

Another picture of Neil Armstrong's flag.

However, the flag left by the Moon by Apollo 17 is completely different than the 'predecessors' before it. The trip to the Moon in 1972 was the last time a man set foot on the Moon, which is why the flag on this trip was more specifically prepared, more durable and 'able to stand for a million years'. .

. to their gloomy fate

The fate of the first flag to the Moon along with the Apollo 11 spacecraft is quite . tragic when being knocked down by the gas escaping after the missile as soon as the ship leaves. This is confirmed by Aldrin himself - a crew member.

The flag plugged in by Neil Armstrong on the Moon was knocked down as soon as the crew left this place.

What about the other flags? Because no one personally went to the Moon to verify it again, their fate caused a lot of controversy. Most claim that these flags have disappeared completely without traces on this planet.

The hidden secret was discovered in 2012 .

In 2012, the device spied on Moon's orbit (LROC), after three years of NASA's exploration sent the first clear pictures. Based on these evidence, it can be affirmed that: except for the first flag left by Armstrong and Aldrin, all other flags still stand in their former positions.

Looking here, we can clearly see the flag on the Moon's surface.

You can take a closer look at the video below:

This finding was quite surprising because no one thought that these flags could survive for nearly half a century. However, scientists claim: after more than 40 years, the flags have certainly suffered the harshness of the climate on the Moon.

Specifically, the Moon will alternate 14 days of incineration from the Sun to 100 degrees Celsius, then 14 days covered by the cold to -150 degrees Celsius. But the most extreme thing is the flags must be Directly streams dense UV rays that are not 'purified' from the Sun.

Even when on Earth, these flags cannot retain its color for more than 40 years. Therefore, surely the flags on the Moon were completely white. And perhaps at this time they are in the process of disintegrating and decomposing.

As for the flag that was shattered in 1969, experts said that if it could exist, we would . no longer be able to identify. It was simply because that flag was undoubtedly lying deep beneath the moon's dust, disappearing from the human range.