<Tr> <Td> Luna - 24 </Td> <Td> 5,800 </Td> <Td> Proton </Td> <Td> 9 August 1976 </Td> <Td> Sample return </Td> <Td> Success--returned 0.17 kg of Moon soil back to Earth </Td> <Td> Mare Crisium </Td> <Td> 012.25 N 062.20 E </Td> </Tr> <P> The U.S. robotic Surveyor program was part of an effort to locate a safe site on the Moon for a human landing and test under lunar conditions the radar and landing systems required to make a true controlled touchdown . Five of Surveyor's seven missions made successful unmanned Moon landings . Surveyor 3 was visited two years after its Moon landing by the crew of Apollo 12 . They removed parts of it for examination back on Earth to determine the effects of long - term exposure to the lunar environment . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Mission </Th> <Th> Mass (kg) </Th> <Th> Booster </Th> <Th> Launch date </Th> <Th> Goal </Th> <Th> Result </Th> <Th> Landing zone </Th> <Th> Lat / Lon </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Surveyor 1 </Td> <Td> 292 </Td> <Td> Atlas--Centaur </Td> <Td> 30 May 1966 </Td> <Td> Landing </Td> <Td> Success--11,000 pictures returned, first U.S. Moon landing </Td> <Td> Oceanus Procellarum </Td> <Td> 002.45 S 043.22 W </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Surveyor 2 </Td> <Td> 292 </Td> <Td> Atlas--Centaur </Td> <Td> 20 September 1966 </Td> <Td> Landing </Td> <Td> Failure--midcourse engine malfunction, placing vehicle in unrecoverable tumble; crashed southeast of Copernicus Crater </Td> <Td> Sinus Medii </Td> <Td> 004.00 S 011.00 W </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Surveyor 3 </Td> <Td> 302 </Td> <Td> Atlas--Centaur </Td> <Td> 20 April 1967 </Td> <Td> Landing </Td> <Td> Success--6,000 pictures returned; trench dug to 17.5 cm depth after 18 hr of robot arm use </Td> <Td> Oceanus Procellarum </Td> <Td> 002.94 S 336.66 E </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Surveyor 4 </Td> <Td> 282 </Td> <Td> Atlas--Centaur </Td> <Td> 14 July 1967 </Td> <Td> Landing </Td> <Td> Failure--radio contact lost 2.5 minutes before touchdown; perfect automated Moon landing possible but outcome unknown </Td> <Td> Sinus Medii </Td> <Td> unknown </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Surveyor 5 </Td> <Td> 303 </Td> <Td> Atlas--Centaur </Td> <Td> 8 September 1967 </Td> <Td> Landing </Td> <Td> Success--19,000 photos returned, first use of alpha scatter soil composition monitor </Td> <Td> Mare Tranquillitatis </Td> <Td> 001.41 N 023.18 E </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Surveyor 6 </Td> <Td> 300 </Td> <Td> Atlas--Centaur </Td> <Td> 7 November 1967 </Td> <Td> Landing </Td> <Td> Success--30,000 photos returned, robot arm & alpha scatter science, engine restart, second landing 2.5 m away from first </Td> <Td> Sinus Medii </Td> <Td> 000.46 N 358.63 E </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Surveyor 7 </Td> <Td> 306 </Td> <Td> Atlas--Centaur </Td> <Td> 7 January 1968 </Td> <Td> Landing </Td> <Td> Success--21,000 photos returned; robot arm & alpha scatter science; laser beams from Earth detected </Td> <Td> Tycho Crater </Td> <Td> 041.01 S 348.59 E </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Mission </Th> <Th> Mass (kg) </Th> <Th> Booster </Th> <Th> Launch date </Th> <Th> Goal </Th> <Th> Result </Th> <Th> Landing zone </Th> <Th> Lat / Lon </Th> </Tr>

When did the usa first land on the moon