The Shadow of Surveyor 1
Explanation:
Fifty
years ago, Surveyor 1 reached the Moon.
Launched on May 30, 1966 and landed on June 2, 1966 with the
Moon at full phase it became the first US spacecraft to make a
soft landing on
another world.
The first of seven Surveyor missions intended to
test the lunar terrain for the planned
Apollo landings it sent
back over 10,000 images before lunar nightfall on June 14.
The total rose to over 11,000 images returned before
its second lunar night began on July 13.
Surveyor 1 continued
to respond from the lunar surface until January 7, 1967.
Captured in this 2009 image
from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,
the first Surveyor still stands at its landing site,
a speck in the Oceanus Procellarum (the Ocean of Storms).
With the Sun low on the western horizon the lonely,
3.3 meter tall spacecraft casts a shadow almost 15 meters long
in the late lunar afternoon.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
