1968-01-07 USA Surveyor 7

A Surveyor 7 launch cover from "SpaceCraft Swanson", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on January 7, 1968, signed by Robert J. Parks, the Surveyor Project Manager.

Surveyor 7 landed in the lunar highlands near the crater Tycho. Devices were carried onboard to analyze chemically the material scooped out. Scientists used the scoop on the spacecraft to "weigh" lunar rocks, based on how much current was needed to lift each rock. Images sent back indicated some of the lunar rocks had been molten at some time in their history. The mission was successfully completed on 21 February 1968.

A Surveyor 7 launch cover featuring a rubber-stamped cachet depicting the Surveyor spacecraft, postmarked at Kennedy Space Center with a machine cancel on January 7, 1968.

A Surveyor 7 launch cover from "Orbit Covers", postmarked at Cape Canaveral with a machine cancel on January 7, 1968.

Photo: Surveyor 7 landed site shows a pile of lunar rocks and the horizon northeast of the spacecraft.