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The Fate Of The American Flag On The Moon
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, one of the first things they did was plant an American flag on the surface. It was a gesture not to claim territory, but to symbolized an amazing achievement by the country. Today, that flag is still often depicted standing gracefully on the surface of the moon, to remind us all of the great things that we are capable of doing.

Unfortunately though, the reality isn’t quite as elegant. For starters, the flag was not some super high tech flag designed by NASA to survive the harsh environment of the moon. It was bought at Sears for $5.50. Because it was made out of ordinary material, the colors of the flag were quickly bleached white by the intense rays of the sun and general radiation in space. Furthermore, 40+ years of harsh moon life has more than likely disintegrated the flag entirely. Even worse, when Neil and Buzz left the moon, the exhaust from the lunar module knocked the thing over onto the ground!

It’s not all entirely bad though. There are actually 5 other American flags on the surface of the moon from subsequent visits. While all those flags probably suffered the same fate as the Apollo 11 flag, photographs have shown that their poles are still standing. The original pole from Apollo 11 can also be seen laying on the ground near its originally placement. So while the flags are more than likely gone for eternity, we still have the poles to show our accomplishments. While they are flag-less, that’s probably more fitting anyway. Space travel should be considered an achievement as a species rather than one as a nation.

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