Surveyor 6

Surveyor 6 was NASA's fourth successful Surveyor lunar landing, reaching Sinus Medii on November 10, 1967. Its television camera, alpha-scattering instrument, and footpad magnets investigated terrain relevant to future crewed landings. The spacecraft returned nearly 30,000 images and measured the chemical composition and magnetic properties of local material. On November 17 controllers fired its three liquid-propellant thrusters for a short hop, lifting the lander a few meters and relocating it about 2.5 meters. This first controlled liftoff from the Moon allowed the camera to inspect the original landing impressions and obtain views from a new position, improving soil-mechanics interpretation and stereo imaging. Most science ended at the onset of lunar night, with only brief contact recovered afterward.