China to be second country’s flag on the moon | Abroad

The flag appears to have been placed during the mission of the unmanned space probe Chang’e-5. Photos from the Chinese space authorities show the red flag with five stars standing still on the windless lunar surface, British broadcaster BBC reports. The images were taken by a camera on the Chang’e-5, which left the moon on Thursday with samples from the bottom.

The US planted the first flag on the moon during the manned Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Five other US flags followed. In 2012, satellite images showed that five of the flags were still standing, but experts say they were likely totally bleached by sunlight.

The first flag, astronaut Buzz Aldrin said, was placed too close to the Apollo lunar module and was likely blown away when the module took off.

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