7/31/12
Apollo Moon Landing Flags Still Standing, Photos Reveal
By Clara Moskowitz | SPACE.com 
Apollo Moon Landing Flags Still Standing, Photos Reveal. (Photo by NASA)
Related Content
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera …
An enduring question ever since the manned moon landings of the 1960s
has been: Are the flags planted by the astronauts still standing?
Now, lunar scientists say the verdict is in from the latest photos of the moon taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC): Most do, in fact, still stand.
"From the LROC images it is now certain that the American flags are still standing and casting shadows at all of the sites, except Apollo 11," LROC principal investigator Mark Robinson wrote in a recent blog post.
"Astronaut Buzz Aldrin reported that the flag was blown over by the
exhaust from the ascent engine during liftoff of Apollo 11, and it looks
like he was correct!"
Each of the six manned Apollo missions that landed on the moon planted an American flag in the lunar dirt.
Scientists have examined images of the Apollo landing sites before for
signs of the flags, and seen hints of what might be shadows cast by the
flags. However, this wasn't considered strong evidence that the flags
were still standing. Now, researchers have examined photos taken of the
same spots at various points in the day, and observed shadows circling
the point where the flag is thought to be. [Video: Moon Photos Prove Apollo Flags Still Stand]
Robinson calls these photos "convincing."
"Personally I was a bit surprised that the flags survived the harsh
ultraviolet light and temperatures of the lunar surface, but they did,"
Robinson wrote. "What they look like is another question (badly
faded?)."
Most scientists had assumed the flags hadn't survived more than four decades of harsh conditions on the moon.
"Intuitively, experts mostly think it highly unlikely the Apollo flags
could have endured the 42 years of exposure to vacuum, about 500
temperature swings from 242 F during the day to -280 F during the night,
micrometeorites, radiation and ultraviolet light, some thinking the
flags have all but disintegrated under such an assault of the
environment," scientist James Fincannon, of the NASA Glenn Research
Center in Cleveland, wrote in the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.
In recent years, photos from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have also shown other unprecedented details of the Apollo landing sites,
such as views of the lunar landers, rovers, scientific instruments left
behind on the surface, and even the astronauts' boot prints. These
details are visible in photos snapped by the probe while it was skimming
just 15 miles (24 kilometers) above the moon's surface.
LRO launched in June 2009, and first captured close-up images of the
Apollo landing sites in July of that year. The $504 million car-size
spacecraft is currently on an extended mission through at least
September 2012.
Deceiving Softness
Inspired by the caterpillar’s many co-functional legs, this stool by the same name features interwoven plywood pieces that move and reshape to adjust to the seated person. Though it appears rigid, the design is unexpectedly flexible and elastic as the links (held together with bungee cord) mold to the user’s body.
Designer: Hyeonil Jeong
Zipper Quality Sound
|
It’s not the first time that zipper functionality has been introduced
to earphones. While earlier concepts only dealt with taking care of
managing the earphones, this improvised version has some new features to
it. For example, to control the volume of your digital player, simply
slide the earphone line up or down, just like zipping up and down. To
change tracks, you need to twirl the line either to the left or right.
By employing intuitive gestures to control your device, the design has
the potential to become a good product. Now only if we can figure out
the engineering for it.
Designer: Lucy Jung         |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)