Spacelog Apollo 11

I'm now in the area of the minus Y strut taking some … photographs.

How's the bulk sample coming, Neil?

Bulk sample is just being sealed.

Houston, Columbia.

Columbia, this is Houston. Go ahead. Over.

Roger. No marks on the LM that time. I did see a suspiciously small white object whose coordinates are —

Go ahead with the coordinates on the small white object.

Easy—Easy 0.3, 7.6, but I … right on the southwest end of a crater. I think they would know it if they were in such a location. It looks like their LM would be pitched up quite a degree. It's on the southwest wall of a smallish crater.

Roger. Copy Echo 0.3 and 7.6, and -

Columbia, this is Houston. While I'm talking to you, LOS will be at 111 19 31; AOS, 112 05 43. Over.

Columbia, this is Houston. Did you copy LOS AOS times? Over.

Negative, Houston. You broke. Disregard. I'll get them off the flight plans.

Roger. Out.

The jet deflector that's mounted on quad 1 seems to be a good bit more wrinkled *** right now on quad 4.

You're breaking up again, Buzz.

I say the jets deflector that's mounted on quad 4 seems to be—the surface of it seems lo be more wrinkled than the one that's on quad 1. Generally, underneath part of the LM seems to have stood up quite well to the *** get some pictures in the aft part of the LM that will illuminate the thermal effects much better than we could get them up here in the front.

Roger. Out.

We're going to get some particular photographs of the bulk sample area, Neil?

Okay.

And, Houston? Buzz here. I'm showing 3.78 psi, 63 percent, no flags, adequate, slight warming *** fingered.

Roger. And Neil has 66 percent O₂, no flags, minimum cooling, and the suit pressure is 382.

Houston. Roger. Out.

Buzz, this is Houston. Have you removed the closeup camera from the MESA yet? Over.

Negative. Thank you.

*** get the panorama now. Okay.

Did you get it?

Houston, how does our timeline appear to be going?

Roger. It looks like you're about a half hour slow on it. We're working on consumables. Over.

All right.

Neil and Buzz, this is Houston. To clarify my last, your consumables are in good shape at this time. The 30 minute reference was with respect to the nominal timeline. Over.

Roger. I understand that.

I don't note any abnormalities in the LM. The pods seem to be in good shape. The primary and secondary struts are in good shape. Antennas are all in place. There's no evidence of problem underneath the LM due to engine exhaust or drainage of any kind.

Roger. Out.

It's very surprising, the very surprising lack of penetration of all four of the foot pads. I'd say if we were to try and determine just how far below the surface they would have penetrated, you'd measure maybe 3 inches, wouldn't you say, Neil?

At the most, yes. That Y strut there is probably even less than that.

Nice paint job.

I get a picture of the plus Y strut taken from near the descent stage, and I think we'll be able to see a little bit better what the thermal effects are. Seem to be quite minimal.

There's one picture taken in the right rear of the spacecraft looking at the skirt of the descent stage, shows a quite darkening of the surface color, a rather minimal amount of radiating or etching away or erosion of the surface. On descent, both of us remarked that we could see a large amount of very fine dust particles moving out. It was reported beforehand that we would probably see an upgassing from the surface after actual engine shutdown, but as I recall, I was unable to confirm that.

This is too big an angle, Neil.

Yes. I think you are right.

We're back at the minus Z strut now. *** very little force of impact that we actually had.

And, Neil, if you'll take the camera, I'll get to work on the SEQ bay.

Okay.

Columbia, Columbia, this is Houston. I notice that -

Go ahead, Buzz.

Taking some close up pictures of that rock.

I was saying that, Houston, *** stop and take a photograph or something and then want to start moving again sideways, there's quite a tendency to start doing it with just gradual sideways hops until you start getting ***

Roger.

Okay. I'm just on the other side of the —

Now we can see you through the structure of the minus Z secondary strut.

All right. The doors are open, and it looks like they are going to stay up without any problem.

Columbia, Columbia, this is Houston. We are about to lose you on the OMNI's. Request high gain antenna, REACQ mode Fish 20, yaw 135. Over.

You want to pick an area, Neil?

Make that yaw 175, Columbia, yaw 175 on the high gain.

Columbia is locked up on the high gain, Houston.

Roger. Out.

Houston, the passive seismometer has been deployed manually.

Roger.

And the manual deployment of the LR cubed, the little spring that is at the end of the string is pulled off of the picks head. However, I was able to reach up and get hold of the picks head and pull it loose. So, it will be deployed manually, also.

Roger.

And, the panorama is complete. *** and the LM—got the LM at 7 30 position at about 60 feet.

And the doors are closed and locked.

Roger.

Have you got us a good area picked out?

Yes. I think right out on that rise out there is probably as good as any.

I'll probably stay on the high ground there and —

Watch it; the edge of that crater is—drops —

Yes. It drops off there, doesn't it?

Get a couple of close ups on these quite rounded large boulders.

About 40 feet out—I'd say out at the end of that next —

It's going to be a little difficult to find a good level spot here.

The top of that next little ridge there. Wouldn't that be a pretty good place?

All right. Should I put the LR cubed right about here?

All right.

I'm going to have to get on the other side of this rock here.

I would go right around that crater to the left there. Isn't that a level spot there?

I think this right here is just as level.

Houston. I have the seismic experiment flipped over now, and I'm aligning it, but I'm having a little bit of difficulty getting the B B in the center. It wants to move around and around on the outside. ***

You're cutting out again, Buzz.

Roger. I say I'm not having too much success in leveling the PSE experiment.

The laser reflector is installed and the bubble is leveled and the alignment appears to be good.

Neil, this is Houston. Roger. Out.

Hey, you want to take a look at this B B and see what you make out of it?

I find it pretty hard to get perfectly level, too.

That B B likes the outside. It won't go on the inside.

That little cup is convex now, instead of concave.

I think you're right.

Believe it is.

Houston, I don't think there's any hope for using this leveling device to come up with an accurate level. It looks to me as though the cup here that the B B is in is now convex instead of concave. Over.

Roger, 11. Press on. If you think it looks level by eyeball, go ahead.

Okay.

…

There you go. Good work; good show. Hey, whoa; stop, stop! Back up.

Houston, as I was spacing the PSE, the right hand solar array deployed automatically. The left hand I had to manually *** the bar at the far end.

All parts of the solar array are clear of the ground now.

Buzz, this is Houston. I understand that you did successfully deploy both solar arrays. Over.