surveyor i's first pictures of lunar surface

8/8/2019 Surveyor I's First Pictures of Lunar Surface

1/19

-p j-9-,,d-o/ /ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION TELS. WO 2-4155W S WASHINGTON,D 20546 WO 1-6925

FOR RELEASE: IMMEDIATEJUNE 8, 1966RELEASE NO: 66-146

SURVEYOR I'sFIRST PICTURES

OF LUNAR SURFACE

The attached photos are a selection of the first in aseries of several thousand televised to Earth by the SurveyorI spacecraft after it made a soft landing on the Moon at 2:17a.m. EDT, June 2, 1966.

Surveyor I, the first engineering test spacecraft ina series of seven flight missions, was launched from CapeKennedy, Fla., by an Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle May 30,1966.

The Surveyor Program is under the direction of NASA'sOffice of Space Science and Applications. Project managementis by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Instituteof Technology.

-End-

6/7/66


2/19

.Jii

41

FIRST PICTURE, FROM MOON'8S SURFACE SENT TO EARTHl BY SURVEYOR I(200 l ine screen)


3/19

OFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATIONNATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONJET PROPULSION LABORATORY, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYPASADENA, CALIFORNIA. TELEPHONE 354-5011

Surveyor I-1PASADENA, CALIF.-- Shown on the reverse side is the firstpicture of the Moon's surface transmitted to Earth by theSurveyor I at 2:52 a.m., EDT, June 2, 1966, showing anumber of parts of the spacecraft. Easily identified are oneof the three landing legs, its footpad, an omnidirectionalantenna boom and, at lower right, the top of a helium container.Surveyor I touched down on the Moon 35 minutes earlier - at2:17 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time. For this picture exposurewas set for the spacecraft itself so that the lunar surface doesnot show up well. Surveyor is a program of the National Aero-nautics and Space Administration.


4/19

~4

~ ~.

-A "A'

-4 l

MONCAETAE Y EEVSO CMRAAORDSRVYRI PCERF


5/19


Surveyor I-5PASADENA, CALIF.--Shown on the reverse side is the Moonscapetaken by television camera aboard Surveyor I spacecraft.White object in lower right corner is an omnidirectionalantenna. Mounted on the antenna is a test target for thetelevision system. Beyond the antenna, the view stretches tothe lunar horizon, a mile or more away, where a raised areashows. Small pieces of rock are scattered across the sur-face. Several small craters appear at left. The two verticalstreaks are transmission defects. Surveyor I landed on theMoon at 2:17 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time, June 1, 1966. This600-scan-line TV photo was taken during the first five hoursafter touchdown. Surveyor is a program of the National Aero-nautics and Space Administration.


6/19

SURVEYOR I's LANDING FOOT RESTS ON THE LUNAR SURFACE


7/19

OFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATIONNATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONJET PROPULSION LABORATORY, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYPASADENA, CALIFORNIA. TELEPHONE 354-5011Photo No: 66-H-590

PASADENA, CALIF.--Photograph from United States' Surveyor I,reverse side, shows landing foot-pad (#2) resting on the lunarsurface. Dark area just above foot is depression caused bypressure of the foot as it landed on the Moon. Picture wasmade by a 600-scan-line TV camera positioned about six feetfrom the area photographed. Bright spots at left are re-flections of the Sun. Dark rings in lower right are reflec-tions of the vidicon as seen in the camera mirror. Surveyoris a program of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-tration.


8/19

SUVYJ " soLFIL`' MOSIT OF THLE FiRAMEl IN1X,2 'SOA 0ie N

EN KA Tli-;,


9/19


Surveyor I-l1PASADENA, CALIF.--The Surveyor I itself fills most of theframe in this photo, reverse side, transmitted from thespacecraft. Black-and-white circular object at top is con-tainer which supplies helium gas for pressurizing liquid fuelVernier rocket engines. Spherical object at lower left isnitrogen tank which stores gas for attitude control. Atlower right is Surveyor's auxiliary battery cantilevered onstruts from the frame. Surveyor is a program of the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration.


10/19

-g< S o-..i -

SX'a4, o: A e

S,~~~~t L, A,- .g;|rlt{b.bastt

4 m43 ,j/t


11/19


Surveyor I-6

PASADENA, CALIF.--Photo of lunar surface, reverse Side, wastaken by Surveyor I on June 2, 1966, within a few hours afterthe spacecraft soft-landed near the Moon's equator. A largerock appears at right. A number of small rocks are scatteredabout a small crater in upper center of photo. Horizonappears in the extreme upper left. Bright spots at left ofcrater are reflections of the Sun in the TV camera system.This 600-scan-line picture was one of 14 4 TV photos taken bySurveyor I during its first day of operation on the Moon.Surveyor is a program of the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration.


12/19

Sr$r

4=

COPSITE OF MOON ROCK SIX INCHES HIGH BY 18 INCHES LONG


13/19

OFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATIONNATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONLjT PROPULSION LABORATORY, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYPASADENA, CALIFORNIA. TELEPHONE 354-5011

Surveyor I-12PASADENA, CALIF.--Shown on the reverse side is a composite oftwo narrow angle (six degree field of view) pictures taken bySurveyor I showing a Moon rock about six inches high by 18inches long. Width of top frame is 30 inches at the center,bottom frame 18 inches. Distance from Surveyor I's televisioncamera to center of the large rock is about 12 feet. Regularly-spaced black dots in both frames are reticle marks arranged onthe face of the TV vidicon tube to indicate for calibrationpurposes. Diagonal shadow at bottom right was made by one ofSurveyor's electronics compartments. Bright rock above sha-dow is about an inch high by three inches in length. Rockfragments at left of large rock range in size from severalinches to one-eighth inch in diameter. The Sun is shining frombehind the spacecraft toward top of frames. These 600-scan-line frames were transmitted to Earth on June 3, 1966, duringSurveyor I's second day of operation on the lunar surface. Thetelevision camera is capable of scanning pictures at 600 linesper frame or 200 lines per frame and has two fields of view--wide angle, 25 degrees and narrow angle, six degrees. Surveyor Ilanded gently on the Moon's Ocean of Storms at 2:17 a.m.,Eastern Daylight Time, June 2, 1966. Surveyor is a program ofthe National Aeronautics and Space Administration.


14/19

SURVEYOR SURVEY TV CAMERA

HOOD 8MIRROR

i a -cMIRRORMIRROR AZIMUTH ELEVATIONDRIVE MOTOR DRIVE ASSEMBLY

VARIABLE 4FILTER WHEELFOCAL LENGTH ASSEMBLYLENS ASSEMBLY

FOCUS aPOTE NTIOM ETERIRISPOTE NTIOM ETER

W sVIDICON TUBESHUTTERASSEMBLY ---

VIDICONRADIATORELECTRONICCONVERSIONUNIT

ELECTRICALCONNECTOR


15/19

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION400 MARYLAND AVENUE S.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546

Photo No: 66-H-399

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Shown on the reverse side is an illustrationof the Surveyor television camera which took several thousandpictures of the lunar surface since the soft landing of theSurveyor I spacecraft on the Moon at 2:17 a.m. EDT, June 2,1966. The camera was conceived and designed to travel un--harmed from the Earth to the Moon and then transmit picturesback to Earth following a soft lunar landing. Its photosrelayed to Earth basic scientific and engineering data on theMoon's environment and the condition of the Surveyor's landinggear and other spacecraft components. The Surveyor program isunder the direction of NASA's Office of Space Science andApplications with project management by the Jet PropulsionLaboratory of the California Institute of Technology.


16/19

SURVEYOR

SOLAR PANEL

OMNIDIRECTIONALANTENNA =HIGH-GAIN

S S U R V E Y lbN--AATNNAS T V CAMERA

STAR CANOPUS\ \ >/SENSOR OMNIDIRECTIONAL

\ ANTENNA

THERMALLYCONTROLLEDCOMPARTMENTRADAR ALTITUDE- VERNIER PROPELLANTDOPPLER VELOCITY PRESSURIZING GASANTENNA (HELIUM) TANKIAUXILIARY BATTERY

VERNIER ENGINE ATTITUDE CONTROL GAS(NITROGEN) TANKRETRO ROCKET MOTOR

ALTITUDE MARKING RADARANTENNALANDING GEAR


17/19

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION400 MARYLAND AVENUE, S.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546

Photo No: 66-H-471

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Shown on the reverse side is a photographof a full-size model of the Surveyor spacecraft similar tothe actual Surveyor I which made a soft landing on the Moonat 11:17 p.m. (PDT), June 1, 1966, after a flight of 63hours, 46 minutes and 37 seconds from launch at Cape Kennedyto touchdown on the lunar surface. Surveyor I was launchedwith an Atlas-Centaur May 30. Within 15 minutes after touch-down, the spacecraft's television camera began transmittingto Earth photographs of the lunar surface. Several of thisfirst series are attached.

The Surveyor I, which returned several thousand4s of picturesof the Moon's surface and much other scientific data, is one ina series of seven spacecraft being developed under the directionof NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications, under theproject management of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of theCalifornia Institute of Technology.


18/19

gI;

NiIa~c' ,

, , , ? '~ ~~"JrC'


19/19

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION400 MARYLAND AVENUE, S.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546

Photo No: 66-H-672

CAPE KENNEDY, FLA.--Shown on the reverse side is an Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle which launched the National Aeronmuticsand Space Administration's Surveyor A spacecraft on its wayto the Moon at 9:41 a.m. EST, May 31, 1966,from Complex 36A,Cape Kennedy, Fla. The launch was the first engineering testflight in a series of Surveyor missions resigned to achievea soft landing on the Moon.

surveyor i's first pictures of lunar surface

Documents