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| "SpaceCraft" Surveyor 6 launch cover cancelled at Cape Canaveral, November 7, 1967. Signed by Deputy Project Manager for Hughes Aircraft Co. Operation, Howard B. Haglund. |
Surveyor 6 had a more difficult mission because of the rough terrain on which it had to land in the Sinus Medii, just south of the equator. Its mission was to photograph an area that was supposed to be covered by its predecessors - Surveyor 2, 4 missions that had failed to soft land on the moon.
In addition to taking thousands of photographs in Sinus Medii, Surveyor 6 made soil measurement with its onboard analyzer. On 17 November 1967, Surveyor 6 was commanded to make a "hop" on the moon's surface - its engines were fired to lift itself off the lunar surface 10 feet (3 meters), and then setting down a few feet away from the original landing site. The spacecraft then took pictures of its former landing site, looking for any evidence of a crater created by the rocket's exhaust. No crater was found, indicating that the moon's surface was solid. Last contact with the spacecraft was 14 December 1967.
