Apollo 11 accomplished all its objectives, scientific or otherwise, but it was one small step when compared to the five missions that would follow. Surface operations were slow and deliberate and the stay relatively brief.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin and spent about 22 hours on the lunar surface, but most of that time was spent in the Lunar Module (LM). The first 6.5 hours were spent working through a nearly 70 page checklist that was sometimes called the spacecraft’s “fourth crewmember” and, in flight, its real commander, according to Michael Collins, who was still in the Command Service Module (CSM) orbiting 60 miles above his crewmates on the surface.

In addition to equipment checks to establish they would be able to stay, the astronauts recalled their training at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill as they used the Alignment Optical Telescope to record the position of stars into the guidance computer that would help return them to the CSM at the end of their stay on the surface.

After 3.5 hours of preparation, Armstrong descended down the nine-rung ladder, pulled a ring that deployed a camera and other equipment stowed in the LM’s side, and stepped on the lunar surface 109 hours, 24 minutes and 15 seconds after launch, July 20, 1969 at 10:56 pm EDT.

Aldrin wouldn’t join Armstrong on the surface for another 19 minutes. Armstrong began immediately collecting the “contingency sample” of fine material and a variety of rocks near the LM. This was first on the list to ensure that some lunar samples could be returned should the astronauts’ stay be cut short by an emergency. Geologists would later praise Armstrong as collecting one of the best variety of any Apollo mission.

The crew would spend just 2.5 hours outside the LM, covering an area that could fit on a baseball diamond. They would deploy four major experiments on the lunar surface.

If the LM landed on the pitcher's mount at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the Solar Wind Composition Experiment would be deployed just to its left. The 1-by-4.6-foot sheet of pure aluminum and platinum was hung on a pole for 77 minutes, then collected and returned to Earth for analysis. Results revealed the chemical makeup of the solar wind, particularly helium isotopes. The experiment was repeated on following missions as well.

Next the crew deployed a 3-by-5-foot American flag by assembling a two-piece aluminum staff and support rod, which kept the flag unfurled in the lunar vacuum, and took a brief call from President Richard Nixon.

The camera that captured the first steps was mounted on a tripod and moved beyond the third baseline to send back live pictures of the astronauts as they collected samples and conducted experiments.

The Surface Closeup Camera was deployed behind the pitcher's mound to capture high-resolution, stereoscopic images of rocks and lunar regolith. It would be moved several times to gather more images of lunar surface revealing a coarse, jagged texture even in the fine dust. The Moon has no wind to move and wear down edges. This camera, along with dozens of tools along with some human waste, remains on the lunar surface today after astronauts retrieved its film cassette to return to Earth.

The Passive Seismic Experiment was deployed just beyond first base. The experiment studied seismic waves passing through the Moon, providing our most detailed look at the Moon's internal structure and returning data for 3 weeks.

The Laser Ranging Retroreflector, a series of corner-cube reflectors designed to always reflect light back in the direction it came, was then deployed just inside first base. The device was used to reflect laser light back from the lunar surface, providing measurement of lunar distance within 1 inch. It has been used by observatories in Texas, Hawaii, California, as well as several in Europe. The experiment continues to function today.

Neil Armstrong then ventured into shallow right field alongside little west crater, a hazard he’d been forced to avoid while manually piloting the LM to the surface a few hours before. He captured the panorama.

In the five Apollo landings that followed, more experiments were conducted, greater in number and sophistication. Stays were longer, and much more ground was covered. By Apollo 17, Eugene Cernan and Jack Schmitt, the lone geologist to take on the Moon, would spend over three days on the surface, covering more than 22 miles in their Lunar Roving Vehicle.