Word: mooned
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Faithfully obeying its distant masters at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Surveyor 3 last week continued to show remarkable versatility on the surface of the moon. It shot and transmitted hundreds of pictures, took the moon's temperature, did some scientific stargazing, dug trenches, uncovered a buried rock, and even played around with a bit of lunar soil...
...ever so slowly over the lunar Ocean of Storms, the spidery, three-legged newcomer hesitantly extended and flexed its aluminum, accordion-like arm. Then, reassured that the numbing cold of its flight through space had done no harm, it reached down and pressed its steel-tipped claw into the moon's surface, leaving a small dent. Opening its claw, it deliberately gouged a small trench near its feet, curiously watching each movement to determine the nature of the lunar soil. Thus last week Surveyor 3 became the second U.S. spacecraft to achieve a successful lunar soft landing...
...measuring the current drawn by the electric motors that power Surveyor's arm, scientists will be able to determine the strength and compressibility of the moon's surface. Close-up TV pictures of the soil disturbed by the claw will provide additional information about its texture and cohesiveness. In last week's preliminary tests, for example, it took a pressure of 4 lbs. per sq. in. to make a dent 1½ in. deep in the lunar surface. And TV pictures demonstrated that there was little or no crum bling of the trench walls, indicating that...
Although Surveyor's mission was generally proceeding according to plan, analysis of its telemetry indicated that it had bounced three times (the first time 35 ft.) after its initial impact on the moon-lifted by its vernier rockets, which had failed to shut down. The unexpectedly rough landing occurred, scientists believed, when the approach radar that controls the rockets became confused by the difference in elevation between the crater bottom and its rim. But the rugged spacecraft quickly proved that it had not been unduly shaken up. Shortly after it landed, it looked down and coolly photographed a nearby...
During preparations for its successful trip to the moon, Surveyor was spared a severe test that future unmanned spacecraft on missions to Mars and Venus will have to endure: dry-heat sterilization to prevent the contamination of other planets by earthly microorganisms. The terrestrial bugs can do little harm on the lifeless moon, but experts agree that their premature arrival on other planets could obliterate or alter possible native life forms before they could be studied. There is a growing feeling, nonetheless, that the U.S. may have accepted international sterilization standards that are unnecessarily high...