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LANDING SITEOceanus Procellarum
LAT-2.94°
LON-23.34°
MOON
Apr 20, 1967
LANDING DATE
1967
2 weeks
MISSION DURATION
TOTAL
-173 to 127 C
SURFACE TEMP
AT LANDING SITE
283
KG
MASS
3
INSTRUMENTS
SCIENTIFIC PAYLOAD
Surveyor 3 is a lander mission by NASA / JPL on Moon. Landed April 20, 1967. Landing site: Oceanus Procellarum.
ABOUT SURVEYOR 3
Surveyor 3 was the first spacecraft to carry a surface sampler instrument, a small scoop that dug four trenches in the lunar soil. It bounced twice during landing before coming to rest. The Apollo 12 Lunar Module Intrepid landed just 183 meters away in November 1969, and astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean retrieved parts of Surveyor 3, including its camera, which were returned to Earth for study.
KEY DISCOVERIES
- First direct manipulation and trenching of extraterrestrial soil
- Soil cohesion and bearing strength measurements
- Apollo 12 astronauts found Streptococcus mitis bacteria survived on camera (later disputed)
TECHNOLOGY & FIRSTS
- First use of a robotic arm/scoop on another world
- Surface sampler dug trenches in lunar soil
- Later visited by Apollo 12 astronauts who retrieved parts
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS (3)
Television camera
Soil mechanics surface sampler (scoop)
Strain gauges
SPACECRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Mass283 kg (624 lbs)
PowerSolar panels + Battery
CommunicationsS-band transmitter, omnidirectional and planar antennas
Design Life1 lunar day
Landing DateApril 20, 1967
Mission EndMay 4, 1967
ProgramSurveyor
SURFACE DATA
Surface Temperature-173 to 127 C
LAUNCH HISTORY
OTHER MOON LANDERS
🚀 LAUNCH MISSION