No one could foresee 50 years ago when Flamsteed P was selected as the Surveyor 1 site, just how significant that site selection and the mission would be (and will be) for lunar science and the space program.

Enlarged view showing Surveyor 1 sitting in the Ocean of Storms, waiting for a return visit by human explorers [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University]. Surveyor 1, the first of a series of seven robotic spacecraft sent to the moon to gather data in preparation for NASA's Apollo missions, was the first spacecraft to make a true soft landing on the moon. First American soft landing on the Moon, sent back images of the surface. Surveyor 1 Landing Site (Google Maps). Explore Surveyor 1 Landing Site in Moon as it appears on Google Maps as well as pictures, stories and other notable nearby locations on VirtualGlobetrotting.com. While Luna 9 and Surveyor 1 were both major national accomplishments, only Surveyor 1 had reached its landing site employing key technologies that would be needed for a crewed flight. The first color images of the lunar surface showed that it had a slightly brownish-gray color. Thus as of mid-1966, the United States had begun to pull ahead of the Soviet Union in the so-called Space Race to land a man on the Moon. As such, it was one of the great successes of NASA's early lunar and interplanetary program.

Surveyor 1: Launched on 30th April 1966, landing on 2nd June 1966. Dimensions about 3 meters (10 feet) high with total footprint 4.3 meters (14 feet) in diameter Explore Surveyor 1 Landing Site in Moon as it appears on Google Maps and Bing Maps as well as pictures, stories and other notable nearby locations on VirtualGlobetrotting.com. Close examination of the images returned by Surveyor 1 showed that the landing site was littered with boulders ranging up to one meter across and craters of various sizes and states of preservation. We now know that the Surveyor 1 landing site will provide key data that addresses a critical area of lunar scientific knowledge. The Surveyor 1 landing site is also one of the areas identified by Project Constellation as a high-priority target for future human lunar exploration.

Past Missions - Surveyor 1-7 Spacecraft Mass: 995 to 1,039 kilograms (2,194 to 2,288 pounds) at launch; 270 to about 283 kilograms (596 to 625 pounds) at landing Configuration: Triangular framework of aluminum tubes supported by three footpads on legs, all topped by mast for solar array and antenna. Apollo 11: Launched 16th July 1969, releasing a Lunar Module (Eagle) which contained the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.