Surveyor 2
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| Surveyor 2 | |
 Surveyor model on Earth |
|
| Organization | NASA |
|---|---|
| Major contractors | Hughes Aircraft |
| Mission type | Lander |
| Launch date | September 20, 1966 12:32:00 UTC |
| Launch vehicle | Atlas-Centaur |
| Mission duration | 62 hours 46 minutes |
| Decay | Impacted on moon September 23, 1966, 03:18:00 UTC at |
| NSSDC ID | 1966-084A |
| Mass | 292 kg after fuel used |
Surveyor 2 was the second American lunar lander in the Surveyor program that explored the Moon.
- Launched September 20, 1966; landed September 23, 1966
- Weight on landing: 644 lb (292 kg)
A mid-course correction failure resulted in the spacecraft tumbling and losing control. The spacecraft was targeted at Sinus Medii, but crashed near Copernicus crater.
This spacecraft was the second of a series designed to achieve a soft landing on the moon and to return lunar surface photography for determining characteristics of the lunar terrain for Apollo lunar landing missions. It was also equipped to return data on radar reflectivity of the lunar surface, bearing strength of the lunar surface, and spacecraft temperatures for use in the analysis of lunar surface temperatures. The target area proposed was within Sinus Medii. The Atlas-Centaur had placed Surveyor 2 on a path to the moon that was only 130 km from its aim point. During the midcourse correction maneuver, one vernier engine failed to ignite, resulting in an unbalanced thrust that caused the spacecraft to tumble. Attempts to salvage the mission failed. Contact was lost with the spacecraft at 9:35 UTC, September 22. The spacecraft impacted the lunar surface at 03:18 UTC, September 23, 1966.
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| Surveyor | 
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| Previous mission: | Surveyor 1 | Next mission: | Surveyor 3 | |
| Surveyor 1 | Surveyor 2 | Surveyor 3 | Surveyor 4 | Surveyor 5 | Surveyor 6 | Surveyor 7 | ||||
