Fleuriot de Langle died in an encounter with natives in what is now American Samoa before the expedition was lost; his remains were returned to France, and were buried in the choir of the church of Saint-Louis at Brest.

For Fleuriot de Langle's expertise, knowledge of math and astronomy, and force of character, La Pérouse chose him as his deputy for his next expedition, commanding the 114-man frigate Astrolabe (accompanied by the Boussole) on a voyage of exploration into the Pacific Ocean.

On the return voyage in 1787, fearing scurvy among his crew, Langle and La Pérouse landed on the Samoan island of Maouna to look for drinking water and fresh food, which they were running out of (Langle and La Pérouse both recognised the importance of fresh food in fighting scurvy, and – unlike La Pérouse[4] – was persuaded by the observations of Captain Cook that fresh water was also valuable in this regard).

With their boats laden with water barrels, they waited for a tide high enough to rejoin their ship, but, according to the survivors' accounts, they were in the meantime faced with ravishing young women, their hair decorated with hibiscus, advancing across the beach towards them and offering them sex.

In 1999, an archaeological expedition to Vanikoro dived on the wrecks of Boussole and Astrolabe, and found a silver fork with the coat of arms of Fleuriot de Langle.