Lunar Flag Assembly flag, placed about from the centerline of the "Eagle" landing craft, was blown over by the blast of the rocket exhaust during takeoff. Because of this, care was taken by subsequent crews to place the flags at greater distances from the Lunar Module. The landing on Apollo 13 was aborted due to a major spacecraft malfunction encountered before reaching the Moon. The flag carried on that flight was destroyed with the Lunar Module "Aquarius" when it reentered the Earth's atmosphere. A review of photographs taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) indicates that flags placed during the Apollo 12, Apollo
Apollo 9 Apollo 9 Apollo 9 was the third crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program and the first flight of the command and service module (CSM) with the lunar module (LM, pronounced "lem"). Its three-person crew consisted of Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart. The crew spent ten days in low Earth orbit testing several aspects critical to landing on the Moon, including the LM engines, backpack life support systems, navigation systems, and docking maneuvers. The mission was the second crewed launch of a Saturn V rocket. After launching on March