JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo

Surveyor 4

Surveyor 4

Despite a perfect flight to the moon, Surveyor 4, which was designed to conduct further studies of the lunar surface in preparation for the upcoming Apollo missions, met an untimely end just 2.5 minutes before landing on the moon.

Mission Statistics

Launch Date

July 14, 1967

Type

Lander/Rover

Target

Moon

Status

Past

About the mission

Despite a perfect flight to the moon, Surveyor 4, which was designed to conduct further studies of the lunar surface in preparation for the upcoming Apollo missions, met an untimely end just 2.5 minutes before landing on the moon.

Communication was lost just before the moon lander's retrorocket, a device designed slow the spacecraft during its descent, cut off. NASA concluded that the spacecraft might have exploded, thus causing the loss of communication.

Instruments

  • Imaging system
  • Lunar surface sampler

More about Solar System

News .

NASA Invites Public to Sign Poem That Will Fly Aboard Europa Clipper

News .

NASA to Discuss Conclusions of Psyche Mission Independent Review Board

Solar System .

Space Trivia Question

Image .

'Castell Henllys' From Above

Image .

Leading Up to Flight 50

News .

NASA Scientists Make First Observation of a Polar Cyclone on Uranus

Image .

Uranus Cyclone With Color Added

News .

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures View of Mars’ Belva Crater

Image .

Perseverance Takes in View at Belva Crater

News .

NASA’s Lunar Flashlight to Fly by Earth

› Fact Sheet
› JPL History
› Surveyor 4 Information on Solar System Exploration
› Surveyor 4 Information on National Space Science Data Center

Explore Other Missions

GRAIL

Dawn

Juno

Infrared Astronomical Satellite

Cassini-Huygens

Galileo

Europa Lander

Magellan

Genesis

Europa Clipper

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Directions and Maps
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono
CL#: 21-0018