Lead
On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts carried the flag planted on the moon for the first time.
More than half a century ago, what about the national flag?
1. The flag of the United States landing on the moon.
In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy proposed in Congress that the United States would send a man to the moon within 10 years.
Prior to this, the Soviet Union had taken the first human steps into space earlier than the United States, but the United States hoped that one day it would be able to break the Soviet Union's dominant position in the field of space.
Not long after this proposal, the first Apollo carried three astronauts into space, making a total of four rounds of flights around the Earth.
On July 16, 1969, the spacecraft Columbia, carrying three astronauts, sent them into space for an expedition to the moon.
The next day, the "Columbia" spacecraft successfully entered the lunar orbit, and after the depressurization of the cabin in the cabin, the two astronauts, Armstrong and Aldrin, quietly left, got on the "Eagle" lunar module and began to descend to the lunar surface.
After stepping on the moon, Armstrong uttered, "It's a small step, but it's a huge leap," and the Americans asked him to plant the American flag.
Later, the United States carried out a total of six moon landings, and six flags of different standards were planted on the moon.
These six flags certainly give the impression that the Americans' moon landing was real, but some people have questioned the authenticity of these flags.
2. What will be the effect of the moon's environment on the national flag?
The so-called "national flag white pole" incident, in fact, the national flag was not inserted into the depths of the lunar soil, but was blown down by the wind many times on the pole, so in order to stand more stable, it was inserted by American astronauts many times.
The news sparked a heated discussion at the time about how far the national flag could be planted to be blocked.
When the United States announced the success of the moon landing, there were doubts that the national flag had been blocked.
Among these doubts, the greatest impact on the material of the national flag puts forward a very interesting point - the national flag on the moon that has been exposed for a long time should have faded due to ultraviolet light.
The most common colors of the national flag are blue, red, and white, blue and red are both infrared, which are relatively vulnerable to damage in outer space, but on the moon, they are more affected by ultraviolet rays.
The earth is surrounded by an atmosphere in which ultraviolet rays are absorbed, so the earth is not suitable for ultraviolet experiments to taste ingredients.
On the Moon, there is no atmosphere to obstruct it, and the ultraviolet rays emitted by the Earth are very strong on the Moon, and it is also easy to chemically react with particles on the surface of the Moon.
Therefore, after the national flag is exposed to outer space for a long time, it is inevitable that the color will fade or fade, and it may even burn directly.
In addition, other parts of these flags, such as the star pattern on the Star-Spangled Banner, the shape of the pentagram, and other textured text, will be affected in the same way.
However, not long after the above news, China planned to send the national flag to the moon and display it, first of all, the designers made changes to the material of the national flag.
The 48-star American flag is made of cotton textiles, while the Apollo 11 flag is made of Oxford nylon (Oxford nylon has a stronger texture than cotton).
3. The conjecture of the fading of the national flag.
The star cloth of the American flag is woven with a layer of nylon thread, and the outermost layer of the fabric is a layer of transparent resin to prevent damage.
When the resin is affected by ultraviolet rays, the outer layer of resin becomes brittle, and the inner nylon thread is also scorched, and the fabric pattern spreads.
However, China's national flag is made of a new composite material, and the top layer is a thin layer of high-temperature resistant material, which can reduce external light radiation by 70% and maintain the long-term stability of the internal environment.
It is difficult for the heat-resistant material to be burned or even discolored, so the flag will not fade and deform due to ultraviolet radiation.
Underneath the high-temperature resistant material is a layer of wear-resistant polymer inorganic material, which is a new composite material that is resistant to ultraviolet, ionizing radiation, high temperature, vacuum and low pressure.
Polymer inorganic materials are more easily resistant to damage from ultraviolet rays and even sunlight and flames, protecting the national flag from damage.
With a heat-resistant protective layer and abrasion-resistant inorganic materials that add up to less than 1 millimeter, the flag can remain undamaged for a long time, and may even bring them back to Earth again when humans conduct research on the moon.
So after returning to Earth, what should be done with China's national flag in order to display it?
China's national flag is cut and sewn from red and yellow fabrics, and the folded size is only 1.6cm x 2.0cm when it lands on the moon.
The Chinese flag is unlikely to fade before it is unveiled, but due to its smaller size as it progresses, it may wear out quite a bit, especially around the edges.
Therefore, before the flag is unfurled, it needs to be repaired, the worn parts are cut off, and then they are sewn back with the same material.
epilogue
Perhaps China or other countries will find a truly faded and deformed national flag during a space expedition in the future, which is the best illustration of this matter and has important scientific research significance in this regard.
Even if not, perhaps this "fading" in the field of extraterrestrial space exploration can give an inspiration to the backward material science on the earth, and can also make the national flag on the earth shine with new brilliance and make the national flag live longer.