I found this really interesting description of the ALSEP instrumentation placed on the moon during the Apollo 11 landing, written by Hamish Lindsay, (also, author of Tracking Apollo to the Moon).
One of the instruments was a seismometer. The seismometer began transmitting directly to Earth as soon as it was set up, and NASA could begin monitoring and recording it immediately.
It was very sensitive to local vibrations, and could even detect activity of astronauts inside the LEM.
The full image of the seismogram is shown below, along with a cropped highlight near the end.
At first PERSONAL LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS (PLSS'S) ARE THROWN OUT OF THE CAPSULE
sounds a bit final to say the least.
I understand that obsessive mission weight minimization was the only way to get to the moon and back, so plenty of things were left behind. However it seems that a PLSS might have some utility in some scenarios.
Were there any downsides to chucking life support out the door that had to be evaluated as part of the overall risk minimization? Were there any scenarios at least considered where they might have been useful, before being discounted?
One example might be a docking difficulty requiring an EVA, though I don't know if that's considered a "thinkaboutable" or not.
below: All images from ALSEP, Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, 20 November 1969 – 30 September 1977, by Hamish Lindsay, Click for full size.
This scan of a copy of the first lunar seismogram – complete with signatures of the Apollo 11 crew, Dr Garry Latham, and other members of his team – is courtesy of Trevor Dalziell at Geoscience Australia.
It seems that this copy (now water damaged) was a part of the US display at Expo 88 in Brisbane. Apollo 15 astronaut Jim Irwin’s signature was added at the Expo. Somehow it made its way to the Geoscience Australia field station in Charters Towers, until it was transferred to Canberra in late 2011. Thanks also to Bruce Stewart for first mentioning this plot.
Dr. Garry Latham (on left), with the Lamont Geological Observatory, studies seismometer tracings in the Mission Control Center’s ALSEP control room.
The electronic data was transmitted from the Passive Seismic Experiments Package which the Apollo 11 astronauts had just deployed on the surface of the moon.
NASA image S69-39587.