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NASA’s Surveyor 2 (1966) and Surveyor 4 (1967)

Surveyor 3 on the Moon, with the Apollo 12 Lunar Module in the background.
Surveyor 3 on the Moon, with the Apollo 12 Lunar Module in the background. Photo: NASA

NASA’s Surveyor probes are famous for being the first U.S. spacecraft to land safely on the lunar surface, but two of the seven missions were complete write-offs. Surveyor 2 crashed on the Moon in September 1966 when its engine failed to ignite, while Surveyor 4 crashed in July 1967 following the loss of radio communications.

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