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Flags in Space

Flying a Flag in Space
Astronauts and Cosmonauts
Flags on Venus and Mars

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Flying a Flag in Space

The problems of flying a flag in the vacuum of space are fairly obvious. Most people know that the US flags planted on the moon were made of cloth or nylon and were rigged with a wire along the top and/or bottom so that they looked like they were "waving." Has anyone else heard the rumor that the Apollo 11 flag was actually knocked down by the dust kicked up by the exhaust of the lunar module, and is currently lying in the Lunar dirt?

josh fruhlinger, 1996-NOV-17

I recall seeing a film of one of the Apollo Lunar Module lift-offs where the camera was aimed out the window. Upon launch from the lunar surface, you could clearly see the U.S. Flag spin on its staff and was waving briskly in a direction pointing away from the rocket blast. There was no indication that the pole or flag were dislodged by the exhaust. I presume, therefore, that the flags left by the Apollo astronauts were all left standing after the departure of the LM.

That does not mean to say that the flags are there today. I work two blocks south of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum where a major exhibit is a LM on a simulated lunar surface, complete with astronaut mannequin and flag. The flag, which was similar to those used in the 1969-1971 lunar missions, has only been at the site since the museum's 1976 opening, and already it is quite noticeably faded. Here, the sun's rays are filtered by miles of atmosphere and the plexiglass roof of the museum. I dare say that the unfiltered UV rays hitting the lunar surface have fully destroyed all the flags left by the Apollo crews by now.

Nick Artimovich, 18 November 1996

After I saw the movie