presented minor engineering challenges. The horizontal and vertical poles were each made of one-inch aluminum tubes in two telescoping parts, anodized with a gold color. Due to the limits of the astronauts' spacesuits, the total height of the flagpole was limited to their minimum and maximum reach. The flag cost $5.50 and the tubing cost $75. Though Annin & Co. is generally accepted to be the manufacturer of the flags used in the Lunar Flag Assemblies and is cited as such by NASA, there is some uncertainty about the manufacturer; according to a NASA contractor report published in the 1990's, labels and bindings were removed from the flags to make them easier to attach to the aluminium staff, thus removing any identifying information about the company that produced the flags. The assembly had to be designed with the astronauts' physical limitations in mind. Because of their thick spacesuits, the astronauts had limited range of motion and manual dexterity. The flag assembly was designed to work within those limitations. The flag assembly was stored immediately behind the left side of the LM ladder. Due to the heat of the exhaust from the descent engine, temperatures were calculated to be for most of the landing, however they would increase to during the final 13 seconds at touchdown. To insulate the flag from these extreme conditions, it had to be packed inside a dual-walled protective shroud consisting of a stainless steel outer case separated from an aluminum layer by Thermoflex insulation, with several layers of Kapton thermal insulation foil between the inner case and the flag. The insulation limited the temperature to which the flag was subjected to . The shroud was estimated to cost several hundred dollars. The flags deployed on the last three landing flights were carried in the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA, an equipment drawer which opened from the side of the Lunar Module) rather than on the ladder. This eliminated the need for the thermal protection shroud. The complete package needed to be as light as possible so as not to cut into the lunar payload and weighed . The flag which had hung in the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) in the Mission Control Center through the prior Apollo landings was flown to the Moon on the final mission, Apollo 17. This flag measured 20% wider and taller than the others requiring a long horizontal pole. Gene