Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
Surveyor Hops
Explanation:
This panorama of the cratered lunar surface was constructed from images returned by the US Surveyor [ http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] 6 lander. Surveyor 6 [ http://cass.jsc.nas…] was not the first spacecraft to accomplish a soft landing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] on the Moon ... but it was the first to land and then lift off [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] again! After the spacecraft touched down near the center of the Moon's nearside [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in November of 1967, NASA controllers commanded it to "hop". Briefly firing its rocket engine and lifting itself some 4 meters above the surface, the Surveyor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] moved about 2.5 meters to one side before setting down again. The hopping success of Surveyor 6 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] essentially marked the completion of the Surveyor series main mission [ http://www.hq.nasa.…] - to determine if the lunar terrain was safe for the planned Apollo landings [ http://www.hq.nasa.…].
Credit and Copyright:
The Surveyor Project, NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/]
keyword:
spacecraft
keyword:
moon
keyword:
surveyor 6
facet_when:
1967
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
Johnson Space Center (JSC)
facet_what:
Moon
facet_what:
Surveyor
facet_what:
Surveyor 6
facet_when_year:
1967
original url:
http://antwrp.gsfc.…
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap000415

Surveyor Hops
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