Apollo 11 Flag Stood Less Than 1 Day, Flattened by Lunar Module Exhaust

1 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jun 19

Buzz Aldrin said the Apollo 11 flag toppled the instant Eagle lifted off, meaning the first U.S. banner on the Moon stood upright for less than a day after its July 20, 1969 planting.
Thousands of pounds of ascent-engine thrust spread across the airless surface as a fast sheet of gas and dust, knocking over the nearby nylon flag and likely coating it within seconds.
NASA had used a standard nylon flag on an aluminum pole with a crossbar; the pole was driven only a few inches into compact regolith, leaving it especially vulnerable to the blast.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images show standing flagpole shadows at Apollo 12, 14, 16 and 17 sites after crews were told to plant flags farther away, making Apollo 11 the only definitively confirmed fallen flag.
More than 56 years later, the flag is likely bleached white, brittle and partly buried, while Tranquility Base remains a future heritage site for later lunar missions to inspect.