Surveyor 5 develops a helium regulator leak and has to land using a hastily and radically re-designed descent profile. The soft landing is flawless and the craft performs even better than its predecessors. During its first lunar day, it returns over 18,000 television images.

On October 15, 1967, after spending two weeks in the deep freeze of a lunar night, Surveyor 5 responds immediately to the first turn-on command and resumes operation until December 17.

See also: National Space Science Data Center

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