NASA’s Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the moon on July 20, 1969, with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins all on board the module. There have been six more US moon landings since, between 1969 and 1972, but Apollo 17 was the last in the past 45 years. The space agency receives an annual budget of around £15billion, with a trip to the moon estimated to cost around £100billion, making it very hard to justify again.
However, that has not stopped conspiracy theorists questioning the legitimacy of the original lunar missions.
One of NASA’s most iconic photos came from Apollo 11 when Buzz Aldrin stood next to the US flag.
However, images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2012 revealed all six flags planted had not fared too well.
The snaps showed at least five of them were still standing, but their colours had completely faded.
The US flag was placed on the Moon (Image: GETTY)
Buzz Aldrin standing next to the flag (Image: GETTY)
Some of them may even have begun to physically disintegrate
Now, though, they have deteriorated even more thanks to the Moon’s lack of atmosphere to absorb sunlight.
Paul Spudis, who sadly passed away in August 2018, enjoyed a lifetime of work at the space agency.
He said in 2011: “Over the course of the Apollo programme, our astronauts deployed six American flags on the moon.
“For 40-odd years, the flags have been exposed to the full fury of the moon’s environment – alternating 14 days of searing sunlight and 100C heat with 14 days of numbing-cold -150C complete darkness.
“But even more damaging is the intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the pure unfiltered sunlight on the cloth from which the Apollo flags were made.
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind (Image: GETTY)
Buzz Aldrin was part of Apollo 11 (Image: GETTY)
Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon (Image: GETTY)
“Even on Earth, the colours of a cloth flag flown in bright sunlight for many years will eventually fade and need to be replaced.
“So it is likely that these symbols of American achievement have been rendered blank, bleached white by the UV radiation of unfiltered sunlight on the lunar surface.
“Some of them may even have begun to physically disintegrate under the intense flux.”
However, that could soon change, as NASA has expressed its desire to return to the moon as early as 2024.
The space agency plans to set up a permanent residency too.
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said on April 9, 2019: “We’ve been given an ambitious and exciting goal.
“History has proven when we’re given a task by the President, along with the resources and the tools, we can deliver.
“We are committed to making this happen. We have the people to achieve it.
“Now we just need bipartisan support and the resources to get this done.”
NASA’s return to the moon hinges on the ambitious development of the Space Launch System (SLS).
Once completed, the SLS will be the most powerful rocket in the world, capable of kickstarting manned exploration of the solar system.
Mr Bridenstine added: “First we are focused on speed to land the next man and first woman on the moon by 2024.
“Second, we will establish sustainable missions by 2028.
Paul Spudis said the flags have probably disintergrated (Image: GETTY)
Elon Musk has joined the race to space (Image: GETTY)
“To do that, we need our powerful Space Launch System to put the mass of reusable systems into deep space.”
However, technology entrepreneur tycoon Elon Musk is just as ambitious, believing his company – SpaceX – will reach the moon by 2023.
The company is currently building their Big Falcon Rocket – a giant carbon-fibre spacecraft that will carry space tourists too.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is also eager to move into the space industry and is excited over the prospect of colonising the moon.