Surveyor was a highly successful series of NASA/JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) spacecraft that soft-landed on the Moon between 1966 and 1968 and, together with the Ranger and Lunar Orbiter programs, helped prepare for the Apollo manned landings. Once the early Surveyors had demonstrated an ability to make successful midcourse corrections and soft-landings (proving, in the process that the lunar surface was not covered in a thick layer of dust, as some scientists had feared), the remaining Surveyors were used to evaluate potential Apollo landing sites.

 

Seven spacecraft were launched, of which five arrived safely on the Moon and returned data. Surveyor 3 was the first of the series to carry a surface-sampling device with which the spacecraft excavated four trenches up to 18 centimeters deep. Eighteen months later, the crew of Apollo 12 landed nearby and recovered Surveyor 3's TV camera and other parts. Laboratory analysis showed that terrestrial bacteria had remained alive in the camera's insulation during its time on the Moon.

 

Surveyor 6 became the first spacecraft to (temporarily) lift off from the surface of another world. On 17 November 1967, its engines were fired for 2.5 seconds enabling it to rise 3.7 meters above the ground. It was then commanded to move 2.4 meters in a westerly direction and then touch down again. Following this maneuver, it continued its data-gathering mission, including the return of 30,027 pictures.

spacecraft	launch date	lunar landing	location	mass (kg)
Surveyor 1	May 30, 1966	Jun 2, 1966	Ocean of Storms	269
Surveyor 2	Sep 20, 1966	Sep 22, 1966 (crashed)	Sinus Medii	292
Surveyor 3	Apr 17, 1967	Apr 20, 1967	Ocean of Storms	283
Surveyor 4	Jul 14, 1967	Jul 17, 1967 (lost contact)	Sinus Medii	283
Surveyor 5	Sep 8, 1967	Sep 11, 1967	Sea of Tranquility	279
Surveyor 6	Nov 7, 1967	Nov 10, 1967	Sinus Medii	280
Surveyor 7	Jan 7, 1968	Jan 10, 1968	Tycho north rim	280