The U.S. has passed a law meant to preserve the Apollo moon landing sites from disruption by any nations or private companies working with NASA on the lunar surface. This could eventually include future space tourists who may notice that the American flags erected by astronauts may not be standing any longer.
There were six Apollo landing sites established between 1969 and 1972. The One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act, which came into effect on New Year’s Eve, declares sites off-limits so they may be preserved for posterity.
Among other things, this could help protect the sites from the ravages of souvenir hunters. Imagine a future when you could visit the Sea of Tranquility and see the actual spot where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on another world in July 1969.
You would be tempted to walk up to the four legged descent stage still there exactly as they left it when they blasted off for home, or touch the very ladder that the astronauts climbed down, or stand on the footpad and look down on Armstrong’s famous first small step boot print in the lunar soil. Maybe there is even a piece of gold coated insulating foil you could nip off…
Neil Armstrong stepped into history July 20, 1969 by leaving the first human footprint on the surface of the moon. (NASA/Newsmakers via Getty Images)
Of course, the very act of touching the artifacts would be desecrating the site, just as so many historic sites on Earth have been degraded by tourists and vandals.
The new act is meant to prevent that from happening to what are among the most significant historic sites of the modern era. The sites have even been made no-fly zones to prevent rocket exhaust from future landing craft from disturbing the artifacts.
Each landing site contains a number of items that were left behind by the astronauts, including the lower descent stage of the lunar module, scientific equipment like laser reflectors and seismometers, along with television cameras and lunar rovers. With no wind, rain or floods on the moon to cause weathering, many of the artifacts will remain intact in the vacuum for thousands of years or longer, barring unlucky meteorite impacts.
Except the flags.
Astronaut Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. saluting the US flag on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 lunar mission. (NASA/AFP via Getty Images)
When Armstrong and Aldrin of Apollo 11 made their historic landing, one of their first tasks was to raise the American flag. After all, the drive behind the moon missions was to prove America’s technical superiority of the Soviet Union, so the flag raising was hugely symbolic.
But Buzz Aldrin later reported that the last thing he saw as they blasted off from the moon was the flag being blown over by the rocket exhaust. Later images of the landing sites taken by satellite show flags still standing on most of the sites, but not Apollo 11.
Satellite images of the Apollo 11 lander site taken at different times of day show no indication of a shadow cast by the flag at the site. Flag shadows are visible at other lander sites on the moon. (NASA/LROC)
This could present a conundrum to the preservationists. If the flag is indeed laying on the ground, should someone in the future go there, stand it up again and restore the image of American pride? If they do, they will disturb those historic first footprints made more than half a century ago.
To cover that eventuality, there is a waiver clause in the new act that says the sites can be approached for “activities of legitimate and significant historical, archeological, anthropological, scientific, or engineering value.”
That might, for example, allow engineers to investigate how the materials of the artifacts have been affected over time to help design better materials for future spacecraft. But you might imagine that anyone who does visit the historic Apollo 11 landing site will be tempted to stand the flag back up again.
Apollo 12 Astronaut Charles “Pete” Conrad standing by the US flag on the Moon on November 14, 1969, on the Apollo 12 United States’ second manned lunar landing mission. (NASA/AFP via Getty Images)
But if the flag is raised again on the moon, there may not be much of it left. All the flags sent to the moon were not specially made for that purpose. They were regular government issue flags made of nylon material that would easily be faded and degraded by the powerful unfiltered ultraviolet radiation from the sun that has been shining on them for more than fifty years.
Even on Earth flags begin to lose colour after a year or two because of solar radiation. Experts suggest all of the flags that were raised on the moon are likely completely bleached out by now. Half a century of long lunar days and super cold lunar nights has probably made the flags unrecognizable.
Putting the stars and stripes back on the moon may seem like a trivial affair, but the symbolism of flags has always been important, and doubtless there will be those who want to do it. However, designing a flag that can resist the harsh lunar environment will be a technological challenge of its own. It would have to be made of colour fast, UV protected material that will stand the test of time. And on the moon, that is a very, very long time.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
