Word has it that Annin Flag Co. from New Jersey will make the next American Flag for the Artemis Moon team.
Last Flag: Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan is holding the lower corner of the American flag during the mission's first EVA, December 12, 1972. Photograph by Harrison J. "Jack" Schmitt.Image Credit: NASA.
With no atmosphere and therefore no wind on the Moon, the Apollo flag only looked as though it were waving because NASA built it as a special L-shaped flag assembly:
A vertical telescoping aluminum pole was pushed into the lunar soil. A horizontal telescoping crossbar ran along the flag’s upper edge and held it outward. The nylon flag remained wrinkled after being tightly folded for the flight. On some missions, the astronauts could not fully extend the crossbar, giving the flag a permanently rippled, “waving” appearance.
When astronauts twisted or handled the pole, the flag moved briefly. With no air resistance, that motion continued a little longer than it would on Earth—but it was not blowing in wind. Once the astronauts stopped touching it, it became motionless.
NASA’s analysis indicates that the flags at Apollo 12, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 were still upright. The flags won't simply disappear—but after more than 53 years of intense ultraviolet radiation, extreme temperature swings, and abrasive lunar dust, it is probably severely faded, brittle, or partly disintegrated. The nylon may now be nearly white. So who knows if it's still there?
Know the Annins & the moon's American Flag company...
Read more:
https://mrlocalhistory.org/flagday/
