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In this video, we will look at what the astronauts of Apollo 11 left behind. With the first people to step foot on the moon, NASA apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin having left the site, they also left behind different experiments including a seismometer, the laser lunar retroflector and commemorative items such as soviet medals and an apollo 1 mission patch. In this space video I am revisiting a significant historical site, Tranquility Base, that noone has has visited since.
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The video first narrates the departure of Apollo 11 from Tranquility Base and then tours what remains at the site today, focusing on commemorative objects, scientific instruments, discarded equipment, and how the harsh lunar environment has altered them over decades.
## Detailed video outline
- Opening & context (0:00–0:51)
- Replays Apollo 11 ascent audio as Armstrong and Aldrin leave the surface after about 21.5 hours.
- States the goal: examine what the astronauts left behind at one of the most significant historic sites that no one has revisited.
- Flag and commemorative plaque (0:51–1:33)
- Explains that Aldrin saw the ascent engine exhaust whip up dust and knock over the U.S. flag during liftoff.
- Describes the flag’s horizontal crossbar (needed because there is no wind) and notes it was an off‑the‑shelf nylon flag from a government supply catalog.
- Mentions the metal plaque on the LM descent ladder with the Apollo 11 crew signatures and President Nixon’s signature.
- Symbolic items on the surface (1:33–2:12)
- Recounts how Aldrin almost forgot to deploy a small set of symbolic items stored in his suit shoulder pocket and dropped them from the ladder after Armstrong reminded him.
- Lists these items: an Apollo 1 mission patch honoring the three astronauts killed in the 1967 pad fire, and two commemorative medals for Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov, recognizing their sacrifices despite Cold War tensions.
- International goodwill disk & olive branch (2:12–2:32)
- Describes a small silicon disk carrying goodwill messages from leaders of 73 countries plus names of key U.S. legislators and NASA senior staff.
- Notes a small gold olive branch left as a symbol of global peace.
- Scientific instruments: seismometer (2:32–3:15)
- Shows a seismometer powered by solar panels, designed to record lunar ground vibrations and transmit strength, duration, and approximate direction back to Earth.
- Explains that about three weeks after the landing it likely failed due to overheating in the intense midday Sun, illustrating the extreme, atmosphere‑free temperature swings on the Moon.
- Scientific instruments: laser retroreflector (3:15–3:37)
- Introduces the lunar laser retroreflector, a special reflector that sends light back exactly toward its source.
- Explains that by timing laser pulses reflected from it, scientists can measure the Earth–Moon distance precisely; it is described as the only Apollo 11 experiment still functioning today.
- Other experiments and traces (3:37–4:16)
- Mentions other activities that are now only evident by their traces: rock sampling, drilling into the regolith to measure resistance, and deploying a solar‑wind collector foil sail whose pole remains on the Moon after the sail was returned to Earth.
- Discarded equipment and TV camera (4:16–4:24, 4:24–4:34)
- Points out a cluttered area near the LM where used equipment was discarded so more rock samples could be brought back.
- Notes that the black‑and‑white TV camera that broadcast the first steps and flag raising was also left on the surface.
- Footprints and Armstrong’s walk to Little West Crater (4:34–4:48, 4:48–4:05)
- Emphasizes the astronauts’ footprints as lasting symbols of the mission’s achievement, forming clearly visible paths in the moondust.
- Highlights Armstrong’s unplanned solo excursion to Little West Crater, visible as a path extending far from the lander.
- Long‑term changes to the site (4:05–4:69)
- Discusses how the site changes slowly over decades and centuries, mainly due to solar radiation and micrometeoroid effects rather than weather.
- Explains that intense UV light and extreme temperature cycles (roughly +100 °C in sunlight and −150 °C in darkness) likely faded the flag’s colors and degraded the nylon, while dust accumulates on surfaces.
- Stresses that these are informed assumptions; the site remains extraordinarily well preserved but is difficult to study directly.
- Sponsor segment & closing (4:98–5:49)
- Shifts to a NordVPN sponsorship, describing benefits such as bypassing region locks and avoiding travel‑related browsing issues.
- Encourages viewers to try the service, then thanks them for watching and ends the video.
## Inventory of Apollo 11 items left on the Moon (as described in the video)
**Commemorative and symbolic items**
- U.S. flag with horizontal crossbar (likely toppled and heavily degraded over time).
- Metal plaque on the LM descent ladder with Apollo 11 crew signatures and President Richard Nixon’s signature.
- Apollo 1 mission patch honoring the three astronauts killed in the 1967 fire.
- Two commemorative medals honoring Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov.
- Silicon goodwill disk with messages from leaders of 73 countries, plus names of NASA senior staff and relevant U.S. legislators.
- Gold olive branch symbolizing global peace.
**Scientific instruments and experiment hardware**
- Passive seismometer experiment package with solar panels (no longer operating).
- Lunar laser retroreflector array, still used to measure Earth–Moon distance.
- Pole from the solar‑wind composition experiment; the foil sail itself was returned to Earth.
**Equipment and other artifacts**
- Black‑and‑white TV camera used to transmit the first steps and flag raising.
- Various discarded tools and hardware, including sample‑collection equipment and other items jettisoned to make room for rock and soil samples (listed collectively as “trash” in the video).
- Extensive astronaut footprints and walking paths in the regolith, especially Armstrong’s track to Little West Crater.
1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqXtPNDCuVk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqXtPNDCuVk)
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