Surveyor 6 Lunar Mission

The spacecraft Surveyor 6 landed near a mare ridge in Sinus Medii November 7, 1967. It carried an alpha-particle backscattering instrument and a television camera. Data were obtained on the following properties of the lunar surface: topography, chemical composition, content of magnetic material, radar reflectivity, density, bearing capacity, modulus of rigidity, adhesion, albedo, photometric function, optical polarization, temperature, and thermal inertia. In general, the surface was strikingly similar to the mare sites where earlier Surveyors had landed. The surface layer of weakly cohesive particles is, however, probably deeper than in Oceanus Procellarum or Mare Tranquillitatus. A number of measurements were made of the velocity of the landing site relative to earth. Observations of the sun showed that the F corona extends out at least 30 solar radii.