Mission Description
Launch: 8 September, 1967
Landed: 11 September, 1967, 00:46:44 UT
Landing Site: Mare Tranquillitatus (1.41°N latitude, 23.18°E longitude)This spacecraft was basically similar to its predecessor, except that the surface sampler was replaced by an alpha-backscatter instrument. In addition, a small bar magnet was attached to one of the footpads. Because of a critical helium regulator leak, a radically new descent profile had to be designed for the spacecraft. Surveyor 5 performed it flawlessly and landed softly. Once safely on the Moon, the spacecraft functioned well, outperforming the previous missions. During its first lunar day, 18,006 television images of exceptional quality and high scientific content were returned to Earth. On October 15, 1967, after having spent two weeks in the deep freeze of a lunar night, Surveyor 5 responded immediately to the first turn-on command and resumed operation, returning 1048 additional pictures and 22 hours of additional data.
Selection of the Target Site
All Surveyor landing sites, except the last one, were selected primarily because they were being considered as Apollo landing sites. The site selected for Surveyor 5 was in the southwest part of Mare Tranquillitatis. Surveyor 5 landed in a dimple-shaped, 9-by-12-meter rimless crater, the largest of a small chain of rimless craters.