On April 17, 1967, Surveyor 3 launched for the Moon. The second of NASA’s Surveyor spacecraft to soft land on the lunar surface, Surveyor 3 was commissioned with studying the Moon in preparation for the upcoming Apollo missions.
Surveyor 3 touched down on the Moon on April 20, though it wasn’t a smooth landing: When reflective rocks scrambled the lander’s radar, the engine didn’t cut at the correct altitude and the lander rebounded twice off the lunar surface. But despite this bumpy descent, Surveyor 3 was able to carry out its schedule of first-of-their-kind sampling experiments. The battery of tests were structured to prove that the lunar surface would be safe for Apollo astronauts to walk on – not to mention land a lunar module on. The probe also transmitted over 6,300 photos back to Earth, as well as thermal data and radar reflectivity. On May 4, 1967, Surveyor 3 went silent, but two and half years later, the Apollo 12 Lunar Module landed nearby, and astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean retrieved the spacecraft’s camera and soil scoop to return to Earth for study.
