Surveyor 4
{{Short description|Space probe}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2014}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name = Surveyor 4
| image = Surveyor mockup.jpg
| image_caption = Surveyor model on Earth
| mission_type = Lunar lander
| operator = NASA
| website =
| COSPAR_ID = 1967-068A
| SATCAT = 02875
| mission_duration = 62 hrs. 9 min. 1 sec. (launch to last contact)
| spacecraft_type =
| manufacturer = Hughes Aircraft
| dry_mass = {{convert|283|kg|lb}}{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1967-068A|title=Surveyor 4|website=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|publisher=NASA}}
| launch_mass = 1,037.4 kg{{cite web|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/surveyor-4/in-depth/ |title=Surveyor 4 |date=December 27, 2017 |publisher=NASA's Solar System Exploration website |access-date=December 2, 2022}}
| power =
| launch_date = {{start-date|July 14, 1967, 11:53:29|timezone=yes}} UTC
| launch_rocket = Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D AC-11
| launch_site = Cape Canaveral LC-36A
| launch_contractor =
| last_contact = {{end-date|July 17, 1967, 02:02:30|timezone=yes}} UTC (approx)
| orbit_epoch =
| orbit_reference =
| orbit_periapsis =
| orbit_apoapsis =
| orbit_inclination =
| apsis =
| interplanetary = {{Infobox spaceflight/IP
|type = lander_impact
|object = Lunar
|arrival_date = July 17, 1967, 02:05:00 UTC
|location = {{Lunar coords and quad cat|0.45|N|1.39|W}}
}}
| programme = Surveyor
| previous_mission = Surveyor 3
| next_mission = Surveyor 5
}}
Surveyor 4 is the fourth lunar lander in the American uncrewed Surveyor program sent to explore the surface of the Moon. This spacecraft crashed after an otherwise flawless mission; telemetry contact was lost 2.5 minutes before touchdown. The planned landing target was Sinus Medii (Central Bay) at 0.4° north latitude and 1.33° west longitude.
Surveyor 6 successfully landed near the crash site of Surveyor 4 a few months later in November 1967.
Equipment
This spacecraft was the fourth in a series designed to achieve a soft landing on the Moon and to return photography of the lunar surface for determining characteristics of the lunar terrain for Apollo lunar landing missions. Equipment on board included a television camera and auxiliary mirrors, a soil mechanics surface sampler, strain gauges on the spacecraft landing legs, and numerous engineering sensors. Like Surveyor 3, Surveyor 4 was also equipped with a surface claw (with a magnet in the claw) to detect and measure ferrous elements in the lunar surface.{{cite web|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/surveyor-4/in-depth|title=Surveyor 4|work=NASA|date=December 27, 2017 |access-date=14 March 2022}}
After a flawless flight to the Moon, radio signals from the spacecraft ceased during the terminal-descent phase at 02:03 UT on July 17, 1967, approximately 2.5 minutes before touchdown. Contact with the spacecraft was never reestablished, and the mission was unsuccessful. The solid-fuel retrorocket may have exploded near the end of its scheduled burn.
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See also
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19690027073_1969027073.pdf Surveyor Program Results (PDF) 1969]
{{Lunar landers}}
{{Surveyor program}}
{{Orbital launches in 1967}}
{{NASA space program}}
Category:Spacecraft launched in 1967
Category:Spacecraft launched by Atlas-Centaur rockets
Category:Spacecraft that impacted the Moon
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