Flag Taken to Moon with Alan Shepard Presentation
NASA, Apollo 14, 1971

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Moon-Flown Flag With Alan Shepard Presentation
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NASA, Apollo 14
Flag Taken to Moon with Alan Shepard Presentation
United Nations General Assembly, 26th Session: 1971
Flag and color photograph
4 x 6 inch flag; 7 x 7 inch photograph
16 x 20 inches, mat
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Presentation dated October 21, 1971, consisting of a small silk flag, a photograph of Antares, and the signature of astronaut Alan B. Shepard, mounted on a board. The flag accompanied the Apollo 14 mission to the moon from January 31 to February 9, 1971. It was presented at the United Nations by the United States Mission to the United Nations and Alan Shepard as a gift to the People's Republic of the Congo (now known as Congo-Brazzaville or the Republic of Congo), to be accepted by their ambassador H.E.M. Nicolas Mondjo. The Congo government turned down the gift, however, because although it was their original flag when the nation achieved independence from France in 1960, it was not their current flag--at the beginning of 1970 a Socialist regime had come to power, renamed the country the People's Republic of the Congo and adopted a new, Soviet-inspired flag. (The original flag was later re-adopted in 1991.) The presentation board, as prepared for the Congo, also has a mounted photograph of Antares moon landing vehicle at Fra Mauro crater on the moon, and is inscribed by mission commander Alan Shepard, "With the compliments of the astronauts of the United States -- Alan Shepard, 10 - 20 - 71."

Any items flown on American missions and landed on the moon are very rare because astronauts were forbidden to bring souvenirs into flight. This flag, however, was sanctioned by NASA for presentation at the UN.

Apollo 14 was a three-man mission commanded by Alan B. Shepard (1924-98), who in 1961 had been the first American to fly in outer space. The Apollo 14 team landed on the moon at Fra Mauro, and stayed for about 33 hours, collecting samples, taking photographs, and exploring the nearby Cone Crater. One of the memorable moments was when Shepard hit two golf balls on the moon. The mission carried 25 U.S. flags, state and territories flags, and the flags of all the United Nations members, each measuring 4 x 6 inches.

The label under the flag says: "This flag was carried to the moon onboard Apollo 14, January 31 through February 9, 1971. It is presented by Real Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr., United States Navy, Delegate to the 26th Session of the United Nations General Assembly."

References:

"The Apollo Program: Apollo 14 Facts," National Air and Space Museum, http://www.nasm.si.edu/apollo/AS14/a14facts.htm

Zeljko Heimer, "Congo," Flags of the World, 2000, http://www.fotw.ca/flags/cg.html.