Apollo 11 LM Lunar Surface Checklist (LM-5)
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Source document: 1969-06-16-apollo-11-lm-lunar-surface-checklist.pdf (scan of the flown-type onboard book, 69 pp; the PDF itself has no text layer). A rough OCR text sibling
....txtwas added 2026-06-13 (Tesseract) — it makes theSUR-NNpage steps and abbreviated procedure text greppable, but the dense schematic pages OCR poorly, so the page images remain authoritative; scan assembled for the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. -
Original: NASA MSC, Apollo 11 — LM Lunar Surface Checklist, part no. SKB32100074-363, S/N 1002; Basic Date June 16, 1969, with page-level change dates running to July 12, 1969 (revision letters per page).
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Available online: via the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal (Apollo 11 documents), which hosts the scanned LM Lunar Surface Checklist.
Summary
Section titled “Summary”The checklist that lived aboard Eagle for the surface stay: the crew’s own step-by-step procedures from the post-touchdown stay/no-stay decisions through EVA preparation, cabin depressurization, post-EVA cleanup, and ascent readiness. Where the LSOP and EVA Procedures are the planning documents, this is the as-flown cockpit artifact — pages SUR-1…SUR-68, GET-keyed at decision points, including crew-annotated entries (e.g. a handwritten “Molded Earpiece” beside the comm-cap line).
Key takeaways
Section titled “Key takeaways”- It opens at the most dangerous moment: SUR-1 is the T+8-minute “STAY” decision (102:55 GET, PDI+20) — immediately configuring for an emergency liftoff: V37E00E, mode control checks, RCS quad/main shutoff valves open, ascent-battery and abort-electronics breaker steps, gyro calibration entries (*047/*053 azimuth components to MSFN), insertion-altitude pads (+00600 Ins Alt), then “Verify Cabin Press … DOFF HELMET & GLOVES.”
- EVA prep as a two-man procedure: the “PREP FOR CABIN DEPRESS” pages (e.g. SUR-41) script the EVA crewman vs. assisting-crewman roles — OPS O₂ hose to the PGA, purge-valve install (verify closed & locked, pin installed), PLSS mode A, anti-fog, helmet/LEVA/EV gloves all “and lock” — the cockpit-side detail behind the hour-long prep overrun.
- Cue cards as the EVA layer: the non-EVA steps end with “Unstow Cue Cards: Hang-down, Final EVA Configuration & EVA Card No. 1 … Stow Lunar surface checklist in purse” — on the surface the timeline itself ran from cards while this book covered systems and prep.
- Handwritten GET hacks — the onboard pace record. Three pen-written times survive on the scanned pages: “106 49” atop SUR-27 (PLSS/OPS DONNING), “107:31” on SUR-28 beside the RCU warning block, and “108 01” atop SUR-30 (PLSS/EVCS electrical checkout) — bracketing the donning-and-connector block at ~72 minutes; the last mark matches the page’s first printed line (“S-band Modulate — FM”) and the air-to-ground loop’s 108:01:03 call to the minute (see One hour, four layers).
- Ascent-readiness configuration pages (e.g. SUR-21: ENG STOP/START reset, STAGE - SAFE guarded, PGNS guidance/mode selections, rate scales) kept Eagle one switch-sequence from departure throughout the stay — the standing posture behind the ascent.