![]() Surveyor model on Earth | |
Mission type | Lunar lander |
---|---|
Operator | NASA |
COSPAR ID | 1967-068A |
SATCAT no. | 02875 |
Mission duration | 62 hrs. 9 min. 1 sec. (launch to last contact) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Manufacturer | Hughes Aircraft |
Launch mass | 1,037.4 kg[1] |
Dry mass | 283 kilograms (624 lb)[2] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | July 14, 1967, 11:53:29[1] | UTC
Rocket | Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D AC-11 |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-36A |
End of mission | |
Last contact | July 17, 1967, 02:02:30 | UTC (approx)
Lunar impact (failed landing) | |
Impact date | July 17, 1967, 02:05:00 UTC |
Impact site | 0°27′N 1°23′W / 0.45°N 1.39°W |
Surveyor 4 is the fourth lunar lander in the American uncrewed Surveyor program sent to explore the surface of the Moon. This spacecraft crashed after an otherwise flawless mission; telemetry contact was lost 2.5 minutes before touchdown. The planned landing target was Sinus Medii (Central Bay) at 0.4° north latitude and 1.33° west longitude.
Surveyor 6 successfully landed near the crash site of Surveyor 4 a few months later in November 1967.
Equipment
[edit]This spacecraft was the fourth in a series designed to achieve a soft landing on the Moon and to return photography of the lunar surface for determining characteristics of the lunar terrain for Apollo lunar landing missions. Equipment on board included a television camera and auxiliary mirrors, a soil mechanics surface sampler, strain gauges on the spacecraft landing legs, and numerous engineering sensors. Like Surveyor 3, Surveyor 4 was also equipped with a surface claw (with a magnet in the claw) to detect and measure ferrous elements in the lunar surface.[3]
After a flawless flight to the Moon, radio signals from the spacecraft ceased during the terminal-descent phase at 02:03 UT on July 17, 1967, approximately 2.5 minutes before touchdown. Contact with the spacecraft was never reestablished, and the mission was unsuccessful. The solid-fuel retrorocket may have exploded near the end of its scheduled burn.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Surveyor 4". NASA's Solar System Exploration website. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ a b "Surveyor 4". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA.
- ^ "Surveyor 4". NASA. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
External links
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