NSSDC ID: 1967-068A
This spacecraft was the fourth in a series designed to achieve a soft landing on the moon and to return photography of the lunar surface for determining characteristics of the lunar terrain for Apollo lunar landing missions. Equipment on board included a television camera and auxiliary mirrors, a soil mechanics surface sampler, strain gauges on the spacecraft landing legs, and numerous engineering sensors. After a flawless flight to the moon, radio signals from the spacecraft ceased during the terminal-descent phase, approximately 2.5 min before touchdown. Contact with the spacecraft was never reestablished, and the mission was unsuccessful. The Surveyor program involved building and launching 7 Surveyor spacecraft to the Moon at a total cost of $469 million.
Launch Date: 1967-07-14
Launch Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States
Mass: 283.0 kg
Data collections from Surveyor 4
Questions or comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office.
Surveyor 4 mission report, JPL, Calif. Inst. Technol., TR 32-1210, Pasadena, CA, Jan. 1968.