Unlike the Ranger missions, which had hard impact landings on the Moon, Surveyor 1 is the first U.S spacecraft to make a soft landing. Settling down at a site called Flamsteed in Oceanus Procellarum, Surveyor 1 sends back 11,240 pictures of the lunar surface, revealing details as small as 2 millimeters (1/12th inch). The lander operates until January 7, 1967.

See also: National Space Science Data Center

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