1969, before Apollo 1 1 led mankind to complete the historic landing on the moon, the US Congress issued a highly confidential task-trying to make the American flag unfold on the moon without air.
A team of engineers at Johnson Space Center, including Tom Mercer, is responsible for solving this problem. Mercer recalled: "People in Congress stressed that this matter must be done quietly, because planting the American flag on the moon is a very politically sensitive matter."
The secret mission is not easy to make the stars and stripes fly on the moon. First, NASA officials must bypass the United Nations regulations prohibiting any country from occupying outer space or celestial bodies. Secondly, it also involves technical problems that have never been encountered before. For example, where should it be placed on the lunar rover to avoid being attacked by bad weather? What can be done to make it easier for astronauts to deploy and find? Mercer bought a $5.50 flag from the store and started the experiment. Finally, the technical service department of Johnson Space Center designed a collar-type flagpole, and a horizontal telescopic rod was attached to the flagpole horizontally, which passed through the crease at the upper end of the flag to make it spread outward.
The flag was put in an insulated pipe and tied to the ladder of the lunar rover. Astronauts neil armstrong and Buzz Ahldin can easily take it off when they reach the moon. A few days before the launch of Apollo 1 1, the design team had time to hand over the design results. 1July, 969 16 At 4 am, the design team personally tied the national flag to the lunar landing vehicle at the top of Pluto-5 rocket.
This flag will stay on the moon forever. This stone tablet reads: "Here, people from the earth set foot on the moon for the first time in July 1969. We come for the peace of all mankind. "
Technical Failure 1969 On July 20th, Tom Mercer watched the famous moon landing on TV like millions of people all over the world. He recalled that before the lunar rover landed, his heart had been in his throat. "I watched Armstrong walk down the steps of the gangway ... he looked as if he was going to fall. I thought his spacesuit was caught on a ladder and torn. It is my fault that he failed to land on the moon. "
The ladder didn't break or tear Armstrong's clothes. He didn't fall. He jumped the last step, jumped onto the surface of the moon, and said the famous saying: "This is a small step for man, but a big step for mankind."
The flag was unfurled at 14: 09 four days after the launch of the spacecraft. According to Apollo's book "A Journey to the Moon", the deployment of the flag brought a lot of trouble to the astronauts. Buzz Ardin recalled: "The two of us managed to let it out, and it almost humiliated NASA in front of people all over the world. There is a retractable horizontal bar on the flagpole to keep the flag stretched, but no matter how hard we try, the horizontal bar refuses to stretch to the end, so the flag that should be flat is always wrinkled. "
It turned out that the designer chose the wrong coating of the stretching strip, which led to the incomplete opening, which is also the reason why the flag seems to be fluttering in the wind. Ironically, the famous photo taken by Bath in front of the national flag is often proved to be false evidence of landing on the moon. Conspiracy theorists claim that the flag on the moon will not wrinkle because there is no wind on it.
Banner political banner also hides political meaning. Historian Ann Platov pointed out in the article "Where Flags Never Fly" that before the United States landed on the moon, the United Nations had already adopted a treaty, which stipulated that "no country is allowed to occupy outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies". Therefore, the United States cannot claim the moon. It actually symbolizes a persistent pursuit. As President Kennedy said when he was sworn in to the US Congress on May 26th, 196 1: "I believe that this country should complete the feat of landing on the moon within 10 years. At this stage, there is no more shocking human space program, and its importance to long-term space exploration is unparalleled. There is no more difficult and expensive task. "
At present, Apollo left six American flags on the surface of the moon. Each national flag deliberately retains the technical error that the telescopic pole of the first national flag cannot be fully unfolded. (on)
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