In one sense, the moon is an ideal place to preserve artifacts. With no wind and no flowing water, delicate landscape features such as the footprints of astronauts appear to have remained intact .

The same is possibly the case for the Apollo 15 flag, which was planted on the moon on July 26, 1971, by astronauts David R. Scott, James B. Irwin, and Alfred M. Worden.

Even if the flags have remained standing when crews rocketed off the moon, it is almost certain that they are not in the same condition as when they were first deployed on the lunar surface.

Aldrin’s footprint, left on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, was made with his lunar overshoe. NASA Armstrong’s lunar spacesuit is on display at the National Air and Space Museum.