Surveyor Program

NASA's Surveyor Program was a managed series of unmanned lunar missions conceived to demonstrate soft landing, study the lunar surface, and provide engineering and scientific information needed for Apollo. Seven missions were planned and flown from 1966 through 1968; Surveyor 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7 soft-landed successfully while Surveyor 2 and 4 were unsuccessful. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory managed the project for NASA, with Hughes Aircraft as the spacecraft contractor.