Apollo Moon flags still flutter, images show
4 August BBC
Images taken by a Nasa spacecraft show that the American flags
planted in the Moon's soil by Apollo astronauts are mostly still
standing.The photos from Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter (LRO) show the
flags are still casting shadows - except the one planted during the
Apollo 11 mission.
This matches Buzz Aldrin's account of the flag being knocked over by
engine exhaust as Apollo 11 lifted off.LRO was designed to produce the
most detailed maps yet of the lunar surface.
Each of the Apollo missions that touched down on the Moon planted an
American flag in the soil.Scientists had previously examined photos of
the landing sites for these flags, and had seen what looked like shadows
cast by them on the lunar surface. But this was not considered
conclusive.
Now, researchers have studied photos of the same areas taken at
different points during the day and have observed shadows circling the
points where the flags are thought to be.
Prof Mark Robinson, the chief scientist for the spacecraft's camera
instrument, LROC, said in a blog entry: "From the LROC images it is now
certain that the American flags are still standing and casting shadows
at all of the sites, except Apollo 11."
The Arizona State University scientist added: "The most convincing
way to see that the flags are still there, is to view a time series of
LROC images taken at different times of day, and watch the shadow circle
the flag.
""Personally I was a bit surprised that the flags survived the harsh
ultraviolet light and temperatures of the lunar surface, but they did.
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