Surveyor 1

Surveyor 1 was the first lunar soft-lander in the Surveyor program and the first American spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon. It transmitted over 11,000 high-resolution photographs and proved the surface could support future crewed landers.

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Agency / Country

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (United States)

Mission Status

LANDED

Launch / Target Year

1966

Spacecraft / Type

Surveyor 1

Landing Site Zone

Surveyor 1 Landing Site (Oceanus Procellarum)

Surface Coordinates

Lat -2.49°, Lon -43.32°

Mission Imagery & Gallery

Surveyor 1 photograph 1: NASA — Surveyor 1 spacecraft image showing the lander in Oceanus Procellarum, June 1966. First US soft landing on the Moon. (NASA, public domain) — NASA — Surveyor 1 spacecraft image showing the lander in Oceanus Procellarum, June 1966. First US soft landing on the Moon. (NASA, public domain)

Primary Achievement

First US soft landing on the Moon

Mission Objectives

Demonstrate US soft-landing capability on the Moon
Transmit high-resolution surface photographs
Measure bearing strength and physical properties of lunar surface
Support Apollo landing site selection

Timeline Events

1966-05-30 — Launch from Cape Canaveral
1966-06-02 — Soft landing in Oceanus Procellarum — first US Moon landing
1966-06-02 — Began transmitting surface photographs (11,237 total)
1967-01-07 — Last contact

Related Missions

Luna 9 (1966) · USSR
Apollo 12 (1969) · NASA

Historical & Technical Sources

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