Cernan and Harrison Schmitt carried a second, identical flag to the Moon and back, and presented it to flight controller Gene Kranz after the flight, to replace the one left on the Moon. Flags deployed Flags were planted on each Apollo mission that landed on the Moon. Deploying the flag during the Apollo 11 mission proved to be a challenge. Armstrong and Aldrin had trouble inserting the pole into the lunar surface, and only managed to get it about seven inches deep. When they backed away from the flag, it proved it could stand on its own. Scientists discovered later that the lunar dust has a different profile than terrestrial dust. Dust from Earth has rounded edges; dust from the Moon has sharp edges. The sharp edges of the lunar dust make them catch against each other, making it difficult to insert items into them. Buzz Aldrin reported that the Apollo 11 flag, placed about from the centerline of the Eagle landing craft, was blown over by the blast of the rocket exhaust during takeoff. As a result, care was taken by subsequent crews to place the flags at greater distances from the Lunar Module. Pete Conrad and Alan Bean, the crew of Apollo 12, had trouble with the latch mechanism which was supposed to keep the supporting pole horizontal, so the flag they deployed drooped at an angle. In response to this, the assembly was improved to include a double-latch locking mechanism for later missions. The landing of Apollo 13 was aborted due to a major spacecraft malfunction encountered before reaching the Moon. The flag was stored externally in the MESA, and was destroyed with the Lunar Module Aquarius when it reentered the Earth's atmosphere. Because of issues the Apollo 15 crew had deploying experiments, the flag planting happened later in the mission than intended; at the end of the second EVA rather than the first. The LFA was stored in the MESA on the side of the descent stage of the LM. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin had practiced on Earth how to arrange themselves, the flag, and the Lunar Roving Vehicle around the LM for the best photography. The flag deployed during Apollo 17 has a unique history. It traveled to the Moon and back on Apollo 11, and hung on the wall of Mission Control afterwards. On the first day of the mission, Gene Cernan