Does NASA give any explanation as to why the flag was fluttering at the moon landing?

wajo

Yes. To quote their website: Not every waving flag needs a breeze -- at least not in space. When astronauts were planting the flagpole they rotated it back and forth to better penetrate the lunar soil (anyone who's set a blunt tent-post will know how this works). So of course the flag waved! Unfurling a piece of rolled-up cloth with stored angular momentum will naturally result in waves and ripples -- no breeze required! http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast23feb_2.htm Mar 25 09, 6:19 AM

gentlegiant17

"At their technical crew debriefing, Armstrong and Aldrin reported few problems with the deployment. They had trouble extending the horizontal telescoping rod and could not pull it all the way out. This gave the flag a bit of a "ripple effect" and later crews intentionally left the rod partially retracted." http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:MsRpep0OVZoJ:ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/_techrep/cr188251.html+%22moon+landing%22+flag+moving+site:nasa.gov&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk See also an explanation (not necessarily by NASA) of the "ripple effect": http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090123043600AASAnCt Mar 25 09, 6:26 AM