LEM Crater

Photographs show no crater beneath the lander.  Shouldn't the rockets have made one?  Doesn't this prove that the lander never really landed there?

Here's NASA photo AS11-40-5921 taken by Aldrin of the ground directly beneath the lander.

Note the discoloration caused by scorching and how it is relatively dust free. You can also see a groove caused by one of the probes beneath the LM's feet as it came down and skidded across the lunar surface.

The descent rocket used by the lander had a maximum thrust of 10,500lbs.  Whether this is enough to cause a crater beneath is a matter for debate, but it doesn't matter in this case anyway. The lander's rocket was not at full thrust when it landed, Armstrong throttled it back all the way down as the lander approached the surface.

There were probes hanging beneath the feet sensed when they touched ground, allowing the Armstrong to switch off the rocket just before touch down. This was done to prevent the rocket's thrust rebounding off the surface and damaging the lander itself.

As NASA did not have a precise landing point in mind, the lander did not descend vertically. The actual site it was picked out as being relatively rock free by the astronauts themselves as they descended at an angle, travelling across the landscape and skidding to a stop.  Consequently the lander did not hover directly above its eventual landing point.

So there was practically no down thrust for any great length of time directly above the landing point to cause a crater.