Apollo 11 Moon Landing: US Flag missing in Space

Astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, is beside the U.S. flag during an Apollo 11 moon walk.

The Lunar Module (LM) is on the left, and the footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the soil of the moon.

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this picture of Buzz Aldrin with a 70mm Hasselblad lunar surface camera. Credit: NASA

In the Christian Bible, Moses and the Israelites were forced to wander the desert for 40 years before they enter the promised land. The new promised land is the unlimited frontier of space, and we've already had our 40 years in the post-Apollo desert. It is time for us to reclaim the promise of Apollo, and begin down the path that will take our descendents to the stars.

US Flag lost

Unfortunately, the US flag did not stay in situ. The blast from the Lunar Module take off blew it out of its precarious position and sent it flying across the lunar surface, to land, who knows where. There was no one there to hear it fall!