It’s an iconic piece of imagery: an astronaut plonking down a flagpole with the Stars and Stripes on the lunar surface. But decades after those flags were first placed, many are curious to know – have they stood the test of time?
Keeping an eye on the flags on the Moon is easier said than done. While it would be pretty amazing if any old person could just grab a telescope and take a peek, that’s unfortunately not possible.
As astrophotographer Robert Reeves explains in a video, “The Moon is about a quarter million miles away. The smallest objects on the Moon that can be seen with any earthbound telescope, even the largest research telescope, are only a little under a mile across.”
“Since the flags left on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts are only about four feet [1.2 meters] wide, unfortunately, they’re a thousand times smaller than what we can spot from the Earth,” he continues. “Not even the powerful Hubble Space Telescope can see the flags.”
Thankfully, NASA has a rather handy solution to that problem – the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). As it says on the tin, this spacecraft orbits the Moon and keeps an eye on it, and in doing so, it can spot the shadows cast by the flags left on the surface below.
According to NASA, from photographs taken by the LRO in recent years, we can determine that the flags left by the Apollo 12, 16, and 17 missions still seem to be standing. Granted, it takes a bit of squinting to see (there’s a nice helpful arrow), but it’s a good indicator.
An image taken by the LRO in 2012 shows the flag left by Apollo 12 still standing.
Image credit: NASA
It’s not such good news for the first flag left by Apollo 11. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin has said that he spotted the flag getting knocked over during liftoff and that seems to be backed up by the LRO, which hasn’t been able to see it.
As for those left by Apollo 14 and 15 – status report? Inconclusive. The LRO can’t get a detailed enough look, although we wouldn’t be surprised if the one from 14 toppled over, as it apparently took “quite a beating” from the Lunar Module’s exhaust as it lifted off.
But there’s plenty of other stuff left on the Moon that we simply won’t know the fate of until humans return there – which might end up being a little later than originally anticipated given recent updates – because it’s just too small to see.
We can’t be sure, for example, of what’s happened to the 96 bags of human waste left on the Moon, although if it’s found and brought back to Earth for analysis, we imagine it’ll certainly make for one of the odder experiments those lucky scientists have ever conducted.
However, scientists can still make some educated guesses about other objects. Take the framed family photo left on the lunar surface by Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke; after 52 years exposed to the Sun, it’s likely been bleached.
Whether or not such mementos, flags, and poop should’ve been left in the first place, or should continue to be left – now that’s a whole other matter.
