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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