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 Lunar Module CSM and dock for transfer of the crew and rock samples. Having completed its job, the ascent stage was separated. The Apollo 10 ascent stage engine was fired to fuel depletion, sending it on a trajectory past the Moon into a heliocentric orbit. The Apollo 11 ascent stage was left in lunar orbit to eventually crash; all subsequent ascent stages (except for Apollo 13) were intentionally steered into the Moon to obtain readings from seismometers placed on the surface. The lunar module (originally designated the lunar excursion module, known by the acronym LEM) was designed after NASA chose to reach