Surveyor 3

Mission Profile

Surveyor 3 was the third in NASA's series of robotic lunar landers, launched on 17 April 1967, landing in Oceanus Procellarum on 20 April 1967 and conducting soil mechanics experiments with a surface sampler arm over 6,315 images returned from the lunar surface. Surveyor 3 holds the unique distinction of being visited by humans — the Apollo 12 crew landed nearby in November 1969 and retrieved parts of the spacecraft for return to Earth to study the effects of two and a half years of lunar surface exposure. Analysis of the camera system revealed viable bacteria (Streptococcus mitis) in foam padding, though subsequent investigation suggested the contamination occurred during post-recovery processing rather than survival on the lunar surface. Surveyor 3 remains the only spacecraft on another world ever visited by humans after its original mission.