The NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) probe is orbiting about the Moon. And, the LRO camera (LROC) onboard the orbiter has taken photographs of the landing sites of the NASA Apollo lunar missions.
What they show is that most of the flags that the astronauts placed on the Moon are still upright.
A caption for one picture, brought to us by NASA, states, "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera images of each Apollo site taken at roughly the same orientation but with different sun angles to show the travel of shadows."
"Combined with knowledge of the Apollo site maps which show where the flag was erected relative to the Lander, long shadows cast by the flags at three sites - Apollo 12, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17 - show that the these flags are still “flying”, held aloft by the poles. There is no indication of a flag shadow in this Apollo 11 image"
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In fact, some of the pictures also show the following, which add more evidence that humans were indeed walking on the Moon in the 1960s-1970s:
- dual tracks left by the lunar roving vehicle, or LRV
- descent stage of the Challenger lunar module and the LRV, parked to the east
- paths left by astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell on both Apollo 14 moon
- walks tracks made in 1969 by astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean
For more on this story, please read the 7/27/2012 Space.com article "Apollo Moon Landing Flags Still Standing, Photos Reveal".
Plus, a video of the Apollo 17 landing site is also provided by the Space.com article: Apollo 17 Landing Site Explored by Orbiter.
