Editing Surveyor 3

{{Short description|American lunar lander}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020|cs1-dates=y}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = Surveyor 3
| image              = Surveyor 3 on Moon.jpg
| image_caption      = Surveyor 3 on the Moon, photographed by [[Apollo 12]] astronaut [[Alan Bean]] over two years after it landed
| mission_type       = Lunar [[Lander (spacecraft)|lander]]
| operator           = [[NASA]]
| website            = 
| COSPAR_ID          = 
| SATCAT             = 
| mission_duration   = 16 days (launch to last contact)
| spacecraft_type    = 
| manufacturer       = [[Hughes Aircraft]]
| launch_mass        = {{cvt|1,026|kg|lb|order=flip}}<ref name="Surveyor 3">{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1967-035A|title=Surveyor 3 |publisher=[[NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive]] |access-date=December 2, 2022}}</ref>
| landing_mass       = {{cvt|296|kg|order=flip}}
| power              = <!-- [[watt]]s -->
| launch_date        = {{start-date|April 17, 1967, 07:05:01|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;[[UTC]]<ref name="Surveyor 3" />
| launch_rocket      = [[Atlas-Centaur|Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D]] AC-12
| launch_site        = [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]], [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 36|LC{{nbhyph}}36B]]
| launch_contractor  = 
| last_contact       = {{end-date|May 3, 1967}}
| orbit_epoch        = 
| orbit_reference    = <!--transfer orbit-->
| orbit_periapsis    = 
| orbit_apoapsis     = 
| orbit_inclination  = 
| apsis              = 
| interplanetary     = {{Infobox spaceflight/IP
   |type                = lander
   |object              = [[Moon|Lunar]]
   |arrival_date        = April 20, 1967, 00:04:53&nbsp;UTC
   |location            = {{Lunar coords and quad cat|3.01612|S|23.41791|W}}
 }}
| programme          = ''[[Surveyor program|Surveyor]]''
| previous_mission   = [[Surveyor 2]]
| next_mission       = [[Surveyor 4]]
}}

'''Surveyor 3''' is the third [[Lander (spacecraft)|lander]] of the [[United States|American]] uncrewed [[Surveyor Program|Surveyor program]] sent to explore the surface of the [[Moon]] in 1967 and the second to successfully land. It was the first mission to carry a surface-soil sampling-scoop.

Surveyor 3 was visited by [[Apollo 12]] astronauts [[Pete Conrad]] and [[Alan Bean]] in November 1969, and remains the only probe visited by humans on another [[Astronomical object|world]]. The Apollo 12 astronauts excised several components of Surveyor 3, including the television camera, and returned them to Earth for study.

==History==
Launched on April 17, 1967, Surveyor 3 landed on April 20, 1967, at the [[Mare Cognitum]] portion of the [[Oceanus Procellarum]] (S3° 01' 41.43" W23° 27' 29.55"), in a small crater that was subsequently named [[Surveyor (crater)|Surveyor]]. It transmitted 6,315 TV images to the Earth, including the [[first images of Earth from space|first images to show what planet Earth looked like from the Moon's surface]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.planetary.org/space-images/first-image-of-earth-from-surveyor-3|title = First image of Earth from the surface of the Moon: Surveyor 3}}</ref>

As Surveyor 3 was landing in the crater<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/a12.surveyor.html|title=Surveyor Crater and Surveyor III|website=www.hq.nasa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.history.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/survcrat.jpg|title=nasa.gov ''Contour Map of Surveyor Crater''|access-date=2009-09-02 |archive-date=2013-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317160112/http://www.history.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/survcrat.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref> highly reflective rocks confused the spacecraft's lunar descent [[radar]]. The engines failed to cut off at {{convert|14|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} in altitude as called for in the mission plans, and this delay caused the lander to bounce on the lunar surface twice.<ref name=AAS:04-062>{{Cite conference| title = ''Surveyor''Spacecraft Automatic Landing System | first = Sam W. | last = Thurman | date = February 2004 | conference = 27th Annual AAS Guidance and Control Conference | url = http://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/handle/2014/38026?mode=full | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080227050234/http://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/handle/2014/38026?mode=full | archive-date = February 27, 2008}}</ref> Its first bounce reached the altitude of about {{convert|35|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}. The second bounce reached a height of about {{convert|11|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}}. On the third impact with the surface – from the initial altitude of {{convert|3|m|ft|order=flip|sigfig=1|abbr=off|sp=us}}, and velocity of zero, which was below the planned altitude of {{convert|14|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}, and very slowly descending – Surveyor 3 settled down to a soft landing as intended.

This Surveyor mission was the first that carried a surface-soil sampling-scoop, which can be seen on its extendable arm in the pictures. This mechanism was mounted on an electric-motor-driven arm and was used to dig four trenches in the lunar soil. These trenches were up to {{convert|7|in|cm}} deep. Samples of soil from the trenches were placed in front of the Surveyor's television cameras to be photographed and the pictures radioed back to the Earth. When the first lunar nightfall came on May 3, 1967, Surveyor 3 was shut down because its solar panels were no longer producing electricity. At the next lunar dawn (after 14 terrestrial days, or about 336 hours), Surveyor 3 could not be reactivated, because of the extremely cold temperatures that it had experienced. This is in contrast with the [[Surveyor 1]], which was able to be reactivated twice after lunar nights, but then never again.<ref>{{cite web|last=Krebs|first=Gunter D. |title=Surveyor 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=May 8, 2023|url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/surveyor.htm}}</ref>

{{Anchor|Retrieved parts}}
Surveyor 3 became famous after the crew of [[Apollo 12]] used it as a landing target site. Landing within walking distance on November 19, 1969, the astronauts took several pictures of the probe and removed a scoop from the probe's soil mechanics-surface sampler, a section of unpainted aluminum tube from a strut supporting the Surveyor's radar altimeter and [[Doppler]] velocity sensor, another section of aluminum tube that was coated with inorganic white paint and a segment of television cable wrapped in aluminized plastic film and the Surveyor 3's television camera which were returned to Earth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.space.com/apollo-12-surveyor-3-parts-50-years.html|title = 50 Years on, Where Are the Surveyor 3 Moon Probe Parts Retrieved by Apollo 12?|website = [[Space.com]]|date = November 23, 2019}}</ref> Surveyor 3 is the only probe visited by humans on another world.

==Science instruments==

===Television===
The television camera on Surveyor 3 consisted of a [[vidicon]] tube, two 25 and 100 millimeter [[focal length]] lenses, [[Shutter (photography)|shutter]]s, clear, red, green and blue [[Optical filter|optical filters]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19690027073_1969027073.pdf |title=NASA SP-184 - SURVEYOR Program Results |date=1969 |publisher=NASA |pages=109}}</ref> and an [[Diaphragm (optics)|iris]] mounted along an axis inclined about 16 degrees to the central axis of the spacecraft. The TV camera was mounted under a mirror that could be moved in [[azimuth]] (horizontally) and elevation (vertically). The operation of the camera was completely dependent upon the receipt of proper commands from the Earth. Frame-by-frame coverage of the lunar surface was obtained over the complete 360 degrees in azimuth, and from +40 degrees above the plane normal to the camera's Z-axis to −65 degrees below this plane. Both 600-line and 200-line modes of TV camera operation were used. The 200-line mode transmitted over an [[omnidirectional antenna]] and scanned one frame every 61.8 seconds. A complete video transmission of each 200-line picture required 20 seconds and used a bandwidth of 1.2&nbsp;kHz. The 600-line pictures were transmitted over a [[directional antenna]]. These pictures were scanned as often as once every 3.6 seconds. Each 600-line picture required a nominal one second to be read from the image vidicon, and its transmission required a 220&nbsp;kHz bandwidth, using digital picture transmission. The TV photos were displayed back on the Earth on a slow-scan TV monitor that was coated with a long-persistence [[phosphor]]. Its persistence had been selected to match the nominal maximum [[frame rate]]. One frame of TV identification was received for each incoming TV photo, and the picture was displayed in real-time at a rate compatible with that of the incoming image. These data were recorded on a video magnetic-tape recorder. The camera returned 6315 pictures between April 20 and May 3, 1967, including views of the spacecraft itself, panoramic lunar surveys, views of the mechanical surface digger at work, and of an [[April 1967 lunar eclipse|April 24 eclipse of the Sun by the Earth]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1967-035A|title=NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Details|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|access-date=August 14, 2017}}</ref>

The Apollo 12 Lunar Module landed near Surveyor 3 on November 19, 1969. Astronauts Conrad and Bean examined the spacecraft, and they brought back about {{convert|10|kg|lb|order=flip}} of parts of the Surveyor to the Earth, including its TV camera, which is now on permanent display in the [[National Air and Space Museum]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]

Analysis of the camera found that it withstood 947 days in the vacuum of space, including 32 two-week lunar nights with temperatures dropping below {{cvt|-200|F|C|sigfig=2}}, in good condition. Most major components were functional and undamaged. Some changes were caused by temperature extremes, micrometeorite strikes, and manufacturing errors.<ref>https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19710024418/downloads/19710024418.pdf</ref> The recovered sampler scoop was also in good condition with little change other than some sun-induced fading of the paint.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1971LPSC....2.2743S | bibcode=1971LPSC....2.2743S | title=Examination of returned Surveyor III surface sampler | last1=Scott | first1=R. F. | last2=Zuckerman | first2=K. A. | journal=Lunar and Planetary Science Conference Proceedings | date=1971 | volume=2 | page=2743 }}</ref>

<gallery heights="140px" mode="packed">
File:Surveyor 3 Fig 7-41b1.jpg|Panorama of the mare surface
File:Surveyor 3 Fig 3-44.jpg|Angular blocks, up to {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=off|order=flip|spell=us|sigfig=1}} in diameter, which form part of a strewn field of blocks that surround a sharp-rim crater {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=off|order=flip|spell=us|sigfig=1}} in diameter
File:Surveyor 3 Fig 7-41b2.jpg|Similar view but with different lighting
File:Surveyor 3 Fig 3-53.jpg|Blocky fragments on north wall of crater in which the spacecraft is located
</gallery>

===Soil mechanics surface sampler===
The soil mechanics surface sampler was designed to dig, scrape, and trench the lunar surface and to transport lunar surface material while being photographed so that the properties of the lunar surface could be determined. The sampler was mounted below the television camera and consisted primarily of a scoop approximately {{convert|120|mm|in|order=flip}} long and {{convert|50|mm|in|order=flip}} wide. The scoop consisted of a container, a sharpened blade, and an [[electric motor]] to open and close the container. A small footpad was attached to the scoop door to present a flat surface to the lunar surface. The scoop was capable of holding a maximum quantity of approximately {{convert|32|mm|in|order=flip}} diameter of solid lunar material and a maximum of {{convert|100|cm3|in3|order=flip}} of granular material. The scoop was mounted on a [[pantograph]] arm that could be extended about {{convert|1.5|m|ft|order=flip|sigfig=1}} or retracted close to the spacecraft motor drive. The arm could also be moved from an azimuth of +40 to -72&nbsp;degrees or be elevated {{convert|130|mm|in|order=flip}} by motor drives. It could also be dropped onto the lunar surface under force provided by gravity and a spring. The surface sampler performed seven bearing tests, four trench tests, and thirteen impact tests. The total operating time was 18&nbsp;hours, 22&nbsp;minutes on ten separate occasions. Measurements of motor currents and forces applied to the surface were not obtained due to the state of the spacecraft [[telemetry]] following landing on the lunar surface. However, estimations were possible. The small [[spring constant]] of the torque spring precluded the determination of density from the impact tests. Penetrations of {{cvt|38|to|50|mm|in|order=flip}} were obtained from the bearing tests, and a {{cvt|175|mm|in|order=flip}} depth was reached during trenching operations. The design of the mechanism and its electronic auxiliary was more than adequate for the lunar surface operations.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}} The scoop was also returned to Earth by the Apollo 12 astronauts and is currently on display at [[JPL]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="140">
File:NASM-SI-2007-29754.jpg|An engineering model of Surveyor 3, S-10, used for thermal control tests, reconfigured to represent a flight model of Surveyor 3 or later, at the [[National Air and Space Museum]] (NASM)
File:NASM-A19700294000-NASM2018-02492.jpg|Three-quarter view from below of Surveyor engineering model (NASM)
File:Surveyor3camera.jpg|Surveyor 3 camera brought back from the Moon by Apollo 12, on display at NASM
File:Surveyor3scooping.jpg|Surveyor 3 scoops, photographed by the Apollo 12 astronauts
File:Surveyor 3 Soil Mechanics Surface Sampler.jpg|Soil mechanics surface sampler from the Surveyor 3 spacecraft returned to Earth by the crew of Apollo 12
</gallery>

==Apollo 12 and the possibility of interplanetary contamination==
[[File:Surveyor 3-Apollo 12.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Pete Conrad|Charles Conrad Jr.]], Apollo 12 Commander, stands next to Surveyor 3. In the background is the Apollo 12 Lunar Module, ''Intrepid''.  [[Alan L. Bean]], the Lunar Module pilot of [[Apollo 12]] captured the image.]]{{Main|Reports of Streptococcus mitis on the Moon}}
The Surveyor 3 landing site was later selected also as the landing target for the [[Lunar Module]] of the Apollo 12 crewed lunar mission in 1969. Several components of the Surveyor 3 lander were collected and returned to the Earth for study of the long-term exposure effects of the harsh lunar environment on human-made objects and materials. Although space probes have returned to Earth in the decades since Apollo 12, this remains the only occasion on which humans have visited a probe that had been sent off-world.<ref name="g936">{{cite web | author=Ezzy PearsonScience journalist | title=Apollo 12: the story of the second manned mission to the Moon | website=BBC Sky at Night Magazine | date=2019-11-01 | url=https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-missions/apollo-12-story-second-mission-moon | access-date=2024-07-21}}</ref>

It is widely claimed that a common type of [[bacterium]], ''[[Streptococcus mitis]]'', [[Interplanetary contamination|accidentally contaminated]] the Surveyor's camera prior to launch, and that the bacteria survived dormant in the harsh lunar environment for two and a half years, supposedly then to be detected when Apollo 12 brought the Surveyor's camera back to the Earth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://science.nasa.gov/NEWHOME/headlines/ast01sep98_1.htm |title=Earth microbes on the Moon |publisher=Science.nasa.gov |access-date=July 20, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323224432/http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast01sep98_1.htm |archive-date=March 23, 2010 }}</ref> This claim has been cited by some as providing credence to the idea of interplanetary [[panspermia]], but more importantly, it led NASA to adopt strict abiotic procedures for space probes to prevent contamination of the planet [[Mars]] and other astronomical bodies that are suspected of having conditions possibly suitable for life. Most dramatically, the [[Galileo spacecraft|''Galileo'' space probe]] was deliberately destroyed at the end of its mission by crashing it into [[Jupiter]], to avoid the possibility of contaminating the Jovian moon [[Europa (moon)|Europa]] with bacteria from Earth. The [[Cassini–Huygens|''Cassini'']] probe also impacted [[Saturn]] at the end of its mission in 2017.

However, independent investigators have challenged the claim of surviving bacteria on Surveyor 3 on the Moon. There is a possibility the contamination was caused by using a non-airtight container,<ref name="David">{{cite news |last=David |first=Leonard |date=2 May 2011 |title=Moon Microbe Mystery Finally Solved |work=[[Space.com]] |url=http://www.space.com/11536-moon-microbe-mystery-solved-apollo-12.html |accessdate=2011-05-15}}</ref> or when the samples  were being taken in the clean room after Apollo 12.<ref name="David"/><ref>{{cite web |author1=John D. Rummel|author2=Judith H. Allton|author3=Don Morrison |date=2011 |title=A Microbe on the Moon? Surveyor III and Lessons Learned for Future Sample Return Missions |url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/sssr2011/pdf/5023.pdf}}</ref>

==Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter==
[[File:Apollo 12 LRO.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Landing site photographed by [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] in 2009]]

In 2009, the [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] (LRO) photographed the Surveyor 3 landing site in some detail, in which surrounding astronaut foot tracks could also be seen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc_20090903_apollo12.html|title=Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images of the Surveyor 3 landing site|access-date=September 4, 2009|archive-date=2009-09-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905112600/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc_20090903_apollo12.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2011, the LRO returned to the landing site at a lower altitude to take higher resolution photographs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/apollo-sites.html|title=Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter returns to the Apollo 12/Surveyor 3 landing site in 2011|date=February 24, 2015}}</ref>

{{Commons category}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Solar System|Spaceflight}}
* [[Planetary protection]]
* [[List of artificial objects on the Moon]]
* [[List of missions to the Moon]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19690027073/downloads/19690027073.pdf Surveyor Program Results (PDF) 1969]
* [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19720019081/downloads/19720019081.pdf Analysis of Surveyor 3 material and photographs returned by Apollo 12 (PDF, 24 MB) 1972]
* [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/Surveyor/press_releases/surveyor_III/ Surveyor 3 images] at Lunar and Planetary Institute
* [https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/Surveyor/s3/ Surveyor Site III Lunar Map] at Lunar and Planetary Institute
* [https://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/Surveyor/s3_2k/ Surveyor Site III Lunar Photomap] at Lunar and Planetary Institute

{{Surveyor program}}
{{Lunar landers}}
{{Moon spacecraft}}
{{Orbital launches in 1967}}
{{NASA space program}}
{{Apollo program}}

{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}

[[Category:Surveyor program (NASA)|3]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1967]]
[[Category:Missions to the Moon]]
[[Category:Apollo 12]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched by Atlas-Centaur rockets]]
[[Category:Soft landings on the Moon]]
[[Category:Alan Bean]]
[[Category:Pete Conrad]]
[[Category:1967 on the Moon]]
[[Category:Space archaeology]]