NASA began the Surveyor program in 1966 to learn about the possibilities of soft landing on the surface of the Moon.
In a span of less than two years, NASA sent seven robotic spacecraft to the Moon that carried cameras and a variety of instruments to determine surface physical properties for landings, and the physical and chemical analyses of lunar soils.
The Surveyor program was carried out when the US was actively involved in the Space Race with the Soviet Union. Out of the seven, five achieved soft landing; these were the first American spacecraft to achieve soft landing on an extraterrestrial body. The Surveyor program was carried out by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in preparation of the Apollo program. All the seven were designed to stay on the Moon; the mission did not envisage their return to Earth.
Picture Credit : Google
