Spotting the American flag on the Moon and other proofs of Moon landing
When Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the Moon, they left a flag on its surface.
They spent some time trying to stick it on the lunar surface, and NASA has footage of
the event.
For instance, this is a proud Buzz Aldrin saluting the first American flag erected on
the Moon.
It was July 21st, 1969.
Each lunar landing was actually marked by the planting of a flag.
But apparently, flags are not the only things humans have left on the surface of our satellite.
There are, for example, a total of 96 bags of human waste on the Moon, as well as photos,
human ashes, a tiny art gallery, a feather, a hammer, some golf balls, and also rovers
and reflectors!
These humanity’s leftovers will remain on the same piece of moon-land forever.
Unless they get hit by some random asteroid or we decided to return them to Earth to study
how time on the Moon has affected them.
Anyway, some people still claim…we’ve never been on the Moon.
What will they have to say if they discovered that…we are able to directly image the flags
on the lunar surface?
Would they change their mind?
Follow me in this video to get to know more about the most striking proofs that we have
about the Moon landings, and more!
So…make sure to choose a clear-sky night, take your telescope and go out to see if you
can spot the American flag on our romantic satellite.
Well…bad news, buddy!
I’m sorry, but there’s no way you will find what you’re looking for!
Yes, the flag is still on the Moon, but you can’t see it using a telescope.
And no, it’s not because your telescope is too weak.
Not even the largest telescopes that we have, like the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) in
Spain - a beast of 10.4 m diameter - can do the job.
The flag is 125 cm long, and you would need an optical wavelength telescope of around
200 meters to see the flag!
And it’s not even a matter of bad seeing due to the atmosphere: not even Hubble Space
Telescope would be able to spot the stars and stripes.
if we had a telescope 75 meters in diameter, we would be able to resolve the large lunar
rover, which has a length of 3.1 meters…but the flag… is only 125 cm.
I’m really sorry.
Nothing can be done.
Unless…we launched a telescope to the Moon.
If we managed to put a telescope in orbit around the moon, and if the Apollo landing
REALLY HAPPENED, we would then be able to resolve the lunar flag on the surface.
Well…guess what?
This has already been done.
14 years ago.
See the dark spot in the zoomed square?
That’s our tiny little cute American flag.
This picture was taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, also known as LRO.
LRO’s primary goal was to make a 3D map of the Moon’s surface from lunar polar orbit
as part of a high-resolution mapping program to identify landing sites and potential resources,
investigate the radiation environment and prove new technologies in anticipation of
future automated and human missions to the surface of the Moon.
On June 23, 2009, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter entered into orbit around the Moon
after a four-and-a-half-day journey from the Earth.
When launched, the spacecraft was aimed at a point ahead of the Moon's position.
A mid-course correction was required during the trip in order for the spacecraft to correctly
enter the Lunar orbit.
Once the spacecraft reached the
, its rocket motor was fired in order for it to be captured by the Moon's gravity into
an elliptical lunar orbit.
Among other things, LRO managed to send back home nice pictures of the Moon's surface.
The astronaut's landing sites were also imaged.
Images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have shown that the American flags left
on the Moon by Apollo astronauts are still standing– except for the Apollo 11 mission,
which Buzz Aldrin reported as being knocked over by engine exhaust as Apollo 11 lifted
off.
But how do we know what we see is the flag’s shadow and not a lunar crater?
Well, by studying photos of the Apollo landing sites taken at different times during the
day, scientists observe shadows circling the points where the flags are thought to be.
You can easily find videos on the web, that clearly show the shadows circling.
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We're about to show you the other most striking proofs of a moon landing!
Not everything is about flags, though.
At the Apollo 17 site, the tracks laid down by the lunar rover are clearly visible, along
with the last foot trails left on the moon.
The images also show where the astronauts placed some of the scientific instruments
that provided the first insight into the moon's environment and interior.
So yeah, we’ve been on the Moon.
The lunar landings are real.
I mean…we can see the footprints, the flag, the rover…
what other proof do we need?
Well…maybe we just need more photos.
Perhaps we all need a reminder of the kind of sacrifices that went into our journey to
the Moon.
NASA has released all the photos of the 12 Apollo missions that made it to space on a
publicly available Flickr photostream, sorted into a series of incredible albums by mission.
Taken right from this gallery, we can see the rising Earth about five degrees above
the lunar horizon in this telephoto view taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft.
And, if the pictures are not enough, we have instruments.
Astronauts brought up a large amount of scientific equipment and installed it on the lunar surface
during Apollo Missions.
A number of seismic sensors, scientific experiments, and instruments were sent to the lunar surface
in order to measure the environment and provide a clear view of this unprecedented adventure.
Until 1977, five Apollo mission seismometers continued to successfully transmit data back
to Earth and the Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector Array, installed by
the astronauts, is still fully functional and measuring the Earth-Moon distance with
astonishing precision.
Astronomers compute this distance from the
round-trip time
of
laser
light pulses traveling at the
speed of light
, which is reflected back to Earth by the Moon's surface or by
one of five
retroreflectors
installed on the Moon during the
Apollo program
.
Also, other experiments, such as the Solar Wind Composition experiment, the Lunar Seismic
Profiling experiment, and the Lunar Dust Detector, have been gathering data from this distant
celestial body, and the results are more than satisfying.
I would say the data collected by the experiments is striking proof of the lunar landing.
How could we measure seismic activity on the moon, if we didn’t leave a seismometer on
its surface?
So, while many were initially skeptical about mankind’s ability to reach such a vast and
majestic place, it seems that the lunar mission was no hoax or conspiracy.
The success of the Apollo program and the data collected by the experiments, as well
as beautifully taken images of the landing sites still prove it today.
But we also brought back samples and learned a lot about lunar geology from then.
I bet you wouldn’t think twice if someone asked you to touch, smell - or even lick!
- a sample of lunar soil.
Well, scientists make no exception.
In the mid-1970s, they were thrilled to finally get their hands on some real lunar rocks.
After decades of studying the moon through telescopes, the Apollo mission had finally
reached its destination and collected enough information to make groundbreaking discoveries.
But the real prize was the lunar rocks that the crew retrieved from the surface of the
moon.
They immediately set about analyzing them to learn about the physical properties of
the moon.
The results were astonishing.
Analysis of the rock samples revealed the presence of oxygen, silicon, and iron, as
well as several other elements impossible to detect from Earth-bound telescopes.
This gave scientists a better understanding of the composition of the moon's surface.
I’m sure the analysis wasn't without its own comedic moments.
If I were a scientist, you would find me chewing on a piece of lunar rock, because I would
probably be dying to see how it tastes.
Anyway, since then, lunar rock sample analysis has become an integral part of understanding
the formation and evolution of our moon.
But one thing is still true.
Whenever I’ll find a discussion about the lunar samples, I will always be thinking of
tasting the delicious lunar soil.
The survivals of the Apollo missions on the lunar surface - from flags and footpaths to
scientific experiments, photographs, and samples - have provided us with an abundance of proof
of mankind’s ability to reach the moon.
Today, the evidence of these missions can still be seen, and analyzed, on the moon's
surface, providing a continual reminder of the courage and feats of the space pioneers,
and reminding us of the countless contributions made by the Apollo space program.
Even if you can’t see the flag with a telescope, the Apollo missions remain living proof that,
when we come together, nothing is impossible.
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