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18th of July 2019
50th anniversary of Apollo 11
Once on the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin carried out a range of activities. Minutes after leaving the lunar module, Armstrong collected a contingency soil sample to ensure a sample was collected, in case the EVA had to be shortened. The astronauts later collected almost 22 kg of lunar rock and soil. The image above shows Aldrin carrying the Passive Seismic Experiments Package (in his left hand) and the Laser Ranging Retro-reflector (in his right) to the deployment area. The Passive Seismic Experiment ran for just over a month before the command uplink failed, with downlink failing in December, 1969. Lunar Laser Ranging experiments, using the relfectors deployed during the Apollo 11, 14 and 15 missions (and Russian Lunokhod reflectors) have established that the moon is moving away from the Earth at a rate of 3.8 cm per year. (Image credit: NASA)



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