Surveyor 1: the story

1. Surveyor 1

   NASA Project Surveyor · 1966 – 1967

   Before Apollo astronauts could walk on the Moon, NASA had to solve a frightening puzzle: was the lunar surface hard rock, or a bottomless ocean of dust that would swallow a spaceship whole?

2. Atlas-Centaur launch

   30 May 1966 · Cape Canaveral LC-36A

   Surveyor 1 roared into the Florida morning sky aboard an Atlas-Centaur rocket—the very first operational test of liquid hydrogen high-energy upper stages.

3. Touchdown at Flamsteed P

   2 June 1966 · 06:17:36 UTC

   Retrorocket burned, vernier engines throttled down, and Surveyor 1 touched down in the Ocean of Storms at 3.4 m/s. Its shock-absorbing landing gear bounced 5 cm into the air before resting permanently.

4. 3.5 centimeters into the dust

   Day 1 · 2 June 1966

   The TV camera pointed down at Footpad 2. The aluminum honeycomb pad had crushed just 3.5 centimeters into the lunar regolith. The Moon had a solid bearing capacity of 40 kPa. Apollo was safe to land.

5. Surviving the -150°C night

   14 June – 6 July 1966

   The sun sank below the lunar horizon, plunging Surveyor into 14 continuous days of sub-zero darkness. When the sun finally rose again on July 6, the frozen solar cells warmed, and the lander woke back up to send 618 more photos.

6. Silent in the Ocean of Storms

   LROC Frame M175357472R

   Today, Surveyor 1 still stands on its three landing pads in Flamsteed P. Photographed from 50 km orbit by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, its triangular shadow marks humanity's first peaceful foothold on the lunar frontier.

NASA Project Surveyor · 1966 – 1967

Surveyor 1

Before Apollo astronauts could walk on the Moon, NASA had to solve a frightening puzzle: was the lunar surface hard rock, or a bottomless ocean of dust that would swallow a spaceship whole?

30 May 1966 · Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Atlas-Centaur launch

Surveyor 1 roared into the Florida morning sky aboard an Atlas-Centaur rocket—the very first operational test of liquid hydrogen high-energy upper stages.

2 June 1966 · 06:17:36 UTC

Touchdown at Flamsteed P

Retrorocket burned, vernier engines throttled down, and Surveyor 1 touched down in the Ocean of Storms at 3.4 m/s. Its shock-absorbing landing gear bounced 5 cm into the air before resting permanently.

Day 1 · 2 June 1966

3.5 centimeters into the dust

The TV camera pointed down at Footpad 2. The aluminum honeycomb pad had crushed just 3.5 centimeters into the lunar regolith. The Moon had a solid bearing capacity of 40 kPa. Apollo was safe to land.

14 June – 6 July 1966

Surviving the -150°C night

The sun sank below the lunar horizon, plunging Surveyor into 14 continuous days of sub-zero darkness. When the sun finally rose again on July 6, the frozen solar cells warmed, and the lander woke back up to send 618 more photos.

LROC Frame M175357472R

Silent in the Ocean of Storms

Today, Surveyor 1 still stands on its three landing pads in Flamsteed P. Photographed from 50 km orbit by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, its triangular shadow marks humanity's first peaceful foothold on the lunar frontier.

RoverVilla / Surveyor 1

Play

Scroll, or press play

01 / 6 · NASA Project Surveyor · 1966 – 1967

19662009