"The ascent stage was deliberately 'short fuelled' "
You do realise what you have said? Nothing wrong with your statement itself, but it highlights that the LM, a complex machine rushed into service and so late arriving they dropped it from some earlier flights, was untested.
Basically Neil Armstrong was the first landing test the LM ever had in 1/6g, if the legs had buckled or some other fault had occurred they would be dead.
Same for the ascent from the surface after baking in the full sun for 2 days, totally untested until Neil pressed the button.
People scream that the Apollo 10 flight tested it, but landing and taking off is quite different from dropping it and catching it. Especially in unknown space with unproven gear where a single mistake is death.
Yes this rushed 1960s machine worked faultlessly time after time, every time, and was so easy to fly they continually changed the pilot each mission and never even had a hint of instability or malfunction, even when bolting a 450kg LRV to one side of it later.
Quite a feat!!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
