The Chinese government has planted a flag on the surface of the Moon, becoming the second nation, after the United States, to have its flag “flying” on the lunar surface, the BBC reports.
China becomes second nation to plant flag on the Moon https://t.co/zqtT3OFHkY
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 4, 2020
The biggest difference, of course, is that the American flags were planted by US astronauts, while the Chinese flag was inserted into the ground by the Chang’e-5 space probe, which landed on the moon to collect soil samples.
Six separate American flags were raised on the lunar surface by astronauts as part of the Apollo missions. A recent survey of the lunar surface confirmed that five of the flags were still standing, although they are likely devoid of color due to the sun’s radiation discoloring the cloth.