Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Flying the Flag

The Olympic Games are the current focus for most people these days. National flags of the medalists are flown many times a day. Many of these flags are US flags, because Americans win many medals.

I am, however, much more impressed by other American flags. Recent photographies of the Moon's surface by the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter show that all but one of the American flags left "flying" by the Apollo landers are still standing. (They are not really flying in the almost non-existant Lunar atmosphere, but made to look like it by a flag pole that also held the upper edge of the flag.) This is despite the harsh temperatures and ultraviolet light on the Lunar surface.

I hope these flags are still standing when humans (and dogs) revisit the landing sites in the future.

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