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The Moon is an astronomical body seen throughout the Fallout series.

Background[]

On July 16th, 1969, as part of the Valiant 11 mission a team from the United States Space Administration in the Virgo II lunar lander landed on the Moon, the first human beings to do so.[1][2] On November 14th of that year, the Valiant 12 mission landed the Virgo III lander on the Moon, and left the national flag of the United States on its surface before their departure.[3]

In 2020, the Delta IX series of rockets were commissioned by the United States Space Administration, which underwent missions to the Moon, one of which was the 17-day Zeus 12.[4] In 2052, the final manned mission to the Moon occurred, and during this, the flag left by the Valiant 12 was recovered and brought back to Earth, where it was put on display in Washington, D.C.'s Museum of Technology.[3]

American forces are mentioned as having fought at the Sea of Tranquility, on the surface of the Moon, to secure the nation's freedom.[5] The scoreboard of the Fallout 76 season Fight for Freedom shows soldiers in Deep Spacewalk power armor raising an American flag on the lunar surface. A moonbase can be seen in the background while rockets resembling the Delta IX fly overhead. Souvenir Moon rocks were openly sold on Earth.[6]

Lunar phases[]

The Moon phases

The phases of the Moon are the shape of the directly sunlit portion as viewed from Earth. The lunar phases gradually and cyclically change over time. In all first-person games, this is directly observable in the sky. A member of the Enlightened mentions several phases of the Moon, including gibbous, waning crescent, and new moon.[7]

Appearances[]

The moon appears in all Fallout games, but is only visible from Fallout 3 onwards. Significant mentions of the Moon appear in Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, the Fallout Bible, and Van Buren.

Behind the scenes[]

  • In Fallout 2 developer commentary, the Garden of Eden Creation Kit was said to even be able to fertilize the surface of the Moon, given the land had been appropriately pre-conditioned beforehand.[Non-game 1]
  • The location was mentioned in the design documents for the canceled Van Buren project.[Non-canon 1]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Museum of Technology terminal entries; museum information, exhibit guide, spaceflight exhibits
  2. Museum of Technology placard: "On July 16, 1969, the Virgo II Lunar Lander 'Valiant 11' became the very first manned space vehicle to touch down on the Moon. The Valiant 11's crew consisted of Captain Richard Wade, Captain Mark Garris and Captain Michael Hagen of the USSA. We salute these brave and noble men who took the very first steps on a planetary body other than our own."
  3. 3.0 3.1 Museum of Technology placard: "This unusual flag was recovered from the surface of the moon by the very last manned flight to its surface in 2052. The flag is from the old 'Valiant 12' Virgo III Lunar Lander that touched down November 14, 1969. It's remarkable condition can be attributed due to its construction; the flag is actually made of special materials to withstand the harsh environment of space."
  4. Museum of Technology terminal entries; Delta IX rocket, Delta IX rocket information
  5. Placard in the Museum of Freedom: "This mural commemorates the many sacrifices of the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. From Lexington and Concord to the shores of Iwo Jima, from the Sea of Tranquility to the Anchorage Front Line, Americans have fought and died through the ages to secure our nation’s freedom. May their sacrifices remind us all that freedom is a privilege afforded to the many, yet hard won by a noble few."
  6. H&H Tools factory terminal entries; Dobson O'Gill's terminal; E-Mail from Jenny DeSoto
  7. Observations, vol. XXVII

Non-game

  1. Fallout Bible 6: "The GECK isn't really a replicator. It contains a fertilizer system, with a variety of food seeds, soil supplements, and chemicals that could fertilize arid wasteland (and possibly selected sections of the moon's surface pre-conditioned to accept the GECK) into supporting farming. The GECK is intended to be 'disassembled' over the course of its use to help build communities (for example, the cold fusion power source is intended to be used for main city power production), and so on. Anything else people needed, they could simply consult the How To Books/Library of Congress/Encyclopedias in the GECK holodisk library for more knowledge. The pen flashlight was just a bonus."

Non-canon

  1. Boulder design documents, p. 2: "Supported by money from Denver's industry and an active military presence, Boulder scientists made advances in medicine (bio-med gel was invented here), alternate energy sources, robotics, and even developed a power armor prototype. Unfortunately, leakage from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (a nearby toxic waste dump/weapons storage location) caused a poisonous cloud that killed a lot of people in Denver. As an apology, the military funded a program to create a self-sustaining research dome, capable of withstanding a nuclear attack. This 'city of the future' was to be a prototype for settlements on the moon and other planets."
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