The Flags on the Moon

Ever thought of the American flags left on the moon by the Apollo astronauts? All together, there have been six flags left on the moon from the six Apollo missions that landed on the moon. These flags were to forever immortalize the Americans' winning the space race and to symbolize the human spirit of peace through space exploration.

But what happened to these flags? Are they still there? Five of the six flags on the moon still stand. The one that doesn't is oddly the first one, placed by Armstrong and Aldrin. They planted the flag too close to the lunar module, and it blew over when they ignited their rocket to take off from the moon. However, the other five are exactly where they were the day they were planted.

We know they stand because there have been pictures taken of them still standing. These pictures are so clear that the rover tracks are still visible. So, 40 years later, the lunar rover tracks are still visible and the flags are still standing. End of story? Not exactly. You see, there has been quite a debate for a number of years as to what condition these flags would be in. When the pictures were taken, they proved the flags still stood. But, what they also proved was something that quite a few people had not expected.

To give you an idea, imagine you have a flag on your front porch, and you leave it outside for 40 years, what will happen to it? It will fade. Naturally weather and temperatures have a lot to do with that. Since there's no atmosphere on the moon or any weather, what do you think the flags look like today? Just as crisp and vibrant as the day they were planted?

No. After 40 years of unobstructed sunlight and sun radiation and temperature extremes that range from 14 straight days of temperatures around the boiling point to 14 straight days of -238 F, the flags can't handle that sort of brutality. According to the people studying the moon, the nylon flags not only lost their color a long time ago, but apparently the flags are now white.

Picture of the plaque left by Apollo 11

As it turns out, the most lasting piece of memorabilia the US left to show it was there is the commemorative plaque Armstrong and Aldrin left in 1969.