Most of the American flags left by astronauts from the Apollo missions on the Moon four decades ago still remain anchored to its surface , according to recent images taken by a camera on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) and published by NASA. .
Specifically, the photographs show that five of the six flags left by astronauts from 1969 to 1972 continue to cast their shadows on the lunar surface, even in their original locations. Only the sixth, placed during the Apollo 11 mission, has not remained standing. Suspicions about its accidental destruction arose long ago when astronaut Buzz Aldrin claimed that the flag may have been burned by the engine exhaust during the takeoff of the spacecraft. The images were taken at different times of the day, which makes it possible to follow the circular movement of the shadow of each flag.
The researchers are surprised by the permanence of the flags in the harsh conditions of the satellite, especially ultraviolet radiation and temperature fluctuations , which range from 120 degrees Celsius above zero to 140 degrees below zero.
The image is further evidence against the voices that defend the unfounded theory of the "lunar conspiracy" , according to which the Americans never landed on the Moon and it was all a hoax since "NASA did not have enough technology to carry man to satellite. "
