Surveyor 3
Surveyor 3 landed on April 20, 1967 in a gentle 200-meter crater in Oceanus Procellarum after three soft bounces. It was equipped with a robotic surface sampler scoop that dug trenches up to 17.5 cm deep and performed bearing-strength tests. In November 1969, Apollo 12 landed within 160 meters, allowing astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean to examine the lander and return its camera and mechanical scoop to Earth for analysis.
Mission Imagery & Gallery
Primary Achievement
First robotic mission to dig into lunar regolith with a motorized soil sampler; later visited on the lunar surface by Apollo 12 astronauts.
Mission Objectives
- Perform soft landing in Oceanus Procellarum and transmit television photos of the surface
- Operate mechanical surface sampler scoop to dig trenches and measure soil mechanics
- Provide critical engineering data on regolith bearing strength for Apollo lunar module landings
Timeline Events
- 1967-04-17 — Launched from Cape Canaveral LC-36B aboard Atlas-Centaur.
- 1967-04-20 — Landed inside Surveyor Crater at Oceanus Procellarum after 3 radar-engine bounces.
- 1967-05-03 — Completed 6,315 television photos and 18 hours of robotic trench digging before lunar night.
- 1969-11-20 — Visited on the surface by Apollo 12 astronauts; camera retrieved and returned to Earth.
Related Missions
- Surveyor 1 (1966) · NASA
- Apollo 12 (1969) · NASA
- Luna 9 (1966) · USSR
Historical & Technical Sources
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