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55 years ago today, it took all of 10 minutes for the Apollo 11 flag to be raised on the ancient surface of the moon. Neil Armstrongand and Buzz Aldrinthe two and a half hour moonwalk event in July 1969.
But that pioneering event in the history of vexillology was not without much debate, discussion and early concern that was set up by the banner of the policy about “whose moon?” (Vexillology is the study of the history, symbolism and use of flags.)
Matthew Ward is a senior lecturer in history at the University of Dundee in Scotland. He notes that the American flag is incredibly powerful and seems to be present in the imagery of almost every major event in American history, from the Apollo moon landings to firefighters raising the flag over the ruins of the World Trade Center on 9/ 11 in 2001. “It’s hard to think of any other flag that has been so invested in meaning. The Stars and Stripes conveys the spirit, history and identity of an entire nation,” says Ward.
Symbolic activity
In the early 1990s, Anne Platoff, who was working with Hernandez Engineering Inc. in Houston, Texas working with Hernandez Engineering Inc. in Houston, Texas a NASA contractor report together entitled, “Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Putting a Flag on the Moon.”
Platoff explains that the raising of the Apollo 11 flag on the moon was a strictly symbolic activity. Since the United States was a signatory to the United Nations Treaty on Outer Space, that treaty barred any territorial claims to the moon.
“However, there have been domestic and international debates regarding the appropriateness of the event,” explains Platoff. Congress amended the NASA appropriations bill to prevent the space agency from flying the flags of other nations, or the flags of international associations on the moon, during missions funded only by the United States.
Platoff notes in her report that the US flag on the lunar surface would obviously not be affected by the legal status of the moon, “but NASA was aware of the international controversy this could cause.”
Flagpole design
In Platoff’s report, she points out that raising the Apollo banner also presented technical challenges for NASA engineers.
“They designed a flagpole with a horizontal bar that allows the flag to ‘fly’ without the benefit of the wind to overcome the effects of the moon’s lack of atmosphere. Other factors considered in the design were weight, heat resistance, and ease of assembly. astronauts whose spacesuits restricted their range of motion and their ability to grasp objects,” explains Platoff.
Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 later recounted in an article written for him Life magazine, while looking at the flag, the moonwalker “felt an almost mystical unification of everyone in the world at that moment.”
Aldrin also described what it was like when he and Armstrong were able to put up the flag, a penny bought locally in Houston for $5.50.
“Just below the powdered surface, the subsoil was very dense,” Aldrin said. “We managed to push the flagpole in a couple of inches. It didn’t look too tight.”
Solar rot
During her research, Platoff discovered that the six flags placed on the moon by the Apollo astronauts were not the same size.
Additionally, the Apollo 17 flag planted in December 1972, the program’s final lunar mission, was particularly significant; that flag was displayed in the Mission Operations Control Room during the other Apollo missions, and then planted on the moon by the last lunar crew, Eugene Cernan and Jack Schmitt.
What is not known is the condition of those flags today. Even if the flags remained standing when the crews left the moon, it is almost certain that they are not in the same condition as when they were first deployed on the lunar surface. “Prolonged exposure to sunlight has probably degraded the nylon of the blanket,” Platoff feels, a damaging result tagged “sun rot.”
It is likely that the moon flags have become brittle and may have separated over time. Another harmful threat to the moon flags is the bombardment of the moon by meteoroid impacts, according to Platoff.
Platoff is now a librarian, historian and vexillologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“One thing I always see in articles is that the bleached flags would turn white from exposure to sunlight. Although this happens with some flags on Earth, I’m not sure about the chemical process involved and if that would happen in a lunar environment ,” Platoff tells Space.com.
Required: critical thinking
As Platoff wrote in her 2011 research paper, “Six Flags over Luna: The Role of Flags in Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories,” whether the flags are still standing or after years of exposure to the harsh lunar environment, “a heritage as a symbol of human exploration of space remains intact.”
It is clear that the significance of these images, said Platoff, “will live long after the death of those who participated in this historic undertaking.”
As for those who support the conspiracy theory of the Apollo moon landings, Platoff is adamant about the story.
“It’s not hard to disprove a moon landing hoax conspiracy,” Platoff explained to Space.com. “There is enough evidence to prove that the Apollo landings were real and that mankind walked on the surface of the moon.”
The real problem, says Platoff, is that people need to be taught to be critical thinkers.
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“Do you really think it would be possible to maintain the level of cooperation from everyone involved in the Apollo Program to maintain the hoax for fifty-five years? Or is it more plausible that people were working together able to harness the power of science and technology to achieve the goal of landing astronauts on the moon and bringing them home safely?”
People who deny that the Apollo moon landing happened, Platoff, “are free to believe what they want, but that doesn’t make them right.”
