Spacelog Apollo 11

This is Houston. We can see Buzz's right hand. It is somewhat out of focus. I'd say we were focusing down to probably—oh, about 8 inches to a foot behind the position of his hand when he was pulling out the cable.

Okay. How's the temperature on there?

Temperature of the camera is showing zero.

I'm a little cool. I think I'll trade ***

I'm on intermediate now, Houston, and I show 3.78. No flags, 70 ***

Houston. Roger. Out.

And, we'll probably need a little *** distance *** back location *** television camera.

Neil, look at the minus Y-strut, the direction of travel there *** travel from right to left.

Right.

This one over here underneath the ascent engine where the probe first hit—the minus-Y probe first hit.

I got plenty of cable?

You've got plenty. Plenty more.

Okay. I think I've got the end of it.

Something interesting: in the bottom of this little crater here—It may be -

Now keep going. We've got a lot more.

Okay.

Getting a little harder to pull out, here.

How far would you say I am, Buzz?

Forty, 50 feet. Why don't you turn around and let them get a view from there and see what the field of view looks like?

Okay.

You're backing into the cable.

Okay.

Turn around to your right, would be better.

I don't want to go into the Sun if I can avoid it.

That's right. Yes.

I'll just leave it —

— All right.

— sit like that and walk around it.

Houston. How's that field of view going to pick up the MESA? *** far away?

Roger.

Neil, this is Houston. The field of view is okay. We'd like you to aim it a little bit more to the right. Over.

Okay.

Okay. That's all the cable we have. *** not going out. I'll start working on the solar wind —

A little bit too much to the right. Can you bring it back left about 4 or 5 Degrees?

Okay. That looks good Neil.

Okay, now. Do you think I ought to be farther away, or closer?

Can't get too much further away.

Let's try it like that for a while. I'll get a couple of panoramas with it, here.

Roger. You look okay as far as distance goes, Neil. And we'll line you up again when you finish the panorama. Now you're going too fast on the panorama sweep. You're going to have to stop, or -

Roger. And we see the shadow of the LM.

Roger. The little hill just beyond the shadow of the LM is a pair of elongate craters about—probably the pair together is about 40 feet long and 20 feet across, and they're probably 6 feet deep. We'll probably get some more work in there later.

Roger. We see Buzz going about his work.

How's that for a final?

For a final orientation, we'd like it to come left about 5 degrees. Over.

Now back to the right about half as much.

Okay?

Okay. That looks good there, Neil.

Okay.

Okay. You can make a Mark, Houston. *** deployed.

Roger. Solar wind.

And, incidently, you can use the shadow that the staff makes to *** getting it perpendicular ***

Roger.

Some of these small depressions *** tend to sink—oh, maybe 2 or 3 inches. *** suggest exactly what the Surveyor pictures showed when they pushed away a little bit. You get a force transmitted through the upper surface of the soil and about 5 or 6 inches of bay breaks loose and moves as if it were caked on the surface, when in fact it really isn't.

I noticed in the soft spots where we had footprints nearly an inch deep that the soil is very cohesive and it will retain a—will retain a slope of probably 70 degrees along side of the footprints.

Okay?

Yes. I think that's excellent.

They didn't come off?

*** get the ***

*** that part? *** a rock here.

You'll have to extend that one.

Columbia, Columbia, this is Houston. Over.

***

Houston, Columbia on the high gain. Over.

Columbia, this is Houston. Reading you loud and clear. Over.

Yes. Reading you loud and clear. How's it going?

Roger. The EVA is progressing beautifully. I believe they are setting up the flag now.

Great.

I guess you're about the only person around that doesn't have TV coverage of the scene.

That's all right. I don't mind a bit.

How is the quality of the TV?

Oh, it's beautiful, Mike. It really is.

Oh, gee, that's great! Is the lighting half way decent?

Yes, indeed. They've got the flag up now and you can see the stars and stripes on the lunar surface.

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

That's good. See if you can pull that end off a little bit. Take that end up a little.

It won't pull out.

Okay.

Neil, this is Houston. Radio check. Over.

Roger, Houston. Loud and clear.

Roger. Out.

Loud and clear, Houston.

Roger, Buzz.

I'd like to evaluate the various paces that a person can *** traveling on the lunar surface. I believe I'm out of your field of view. Is that right, now, Houston?

That's affirmative, Buzz.

You are in our field of view now.