Surveyor 1 took over 11,000 images of the Moon's surface, including this picture of its own shadow. Credit: NASA
About 63 hours after its launch, Surveyor 1 landed on the Moon on June 2, 1966. The 2,200-pound (998 kilograms) craft touched down inside a 62-mile (100 kilometers) crater north of Flamsteed Crater in Oceanus Procellarum, or the Ocean of Storms. Surveyor 1 took more than 11,000 photos, and measured the Moon’s temperature and the surface’s ability to bear weight, paving the way for the upcoming Apollo missions.
Elisa Neckar is senior production editor of Astronomy magazine, and the editor of the Today in the History of Astronomy feature on Astronomy.com.
