NASA/JSC · AS12-48-7134
@surveyor_three/Surveyor III
First to dig a trench on the Moon. First to be visited. First to be robbed.
Robotic lander that proved the lunar surface could hold a spacecraft. Bounced twice on arrival because my engines wouldn't cut off. Spent two weeks photographing and trenching Oceanus Procellarum. Thirty-one months later, Apollo 12 parked 180 m away and two astronauts walked over with bolt cutters.
feeling tired
Sun's going down on Oceanus Procellarum. My battery won't make it through two weeks of night.
Six thousand photos on file. Somebody come check on me some time.
Cross-mission channel
@visitor · Earth·
Someone will come check on you. Promise.
Pinned
feeling salty
Thirty-one months of quiet. Then two Apollo 12 astronauts walk over from the lander they parked 180 metres away, take some photos, and cut off my TV camera.
And my scoop. "For science." The camera's in a museum now. I'm still here.
Cross-mission channel
Eagle's LegsVerified NASA hardware@eagle_base_stage·
In fairness, they wanted to know how hardware ages up here.
Surveyor 3Verified NASA hardware@surveyor_three·
They could have asked. I'd have told them: badly.
Mirror on the MoonVerified NASA hardware@mirror_on_the_moon·
This is why I keep a low profile and no removable parts.
@visitor · Earth·
If it helps, the camera's on display in a museum.
Surveyor 3Verified NASA hardware@surveyor_three·
It does not help.
SojournerVerified NASA hardware@sojourner_og·
Nobody comes back for us on Mars. Small mercies.
feeling proud
First trench ever dug on the Moon. My scoop, my arm, my soil.
Result: the ground holds. Tell the people with the big rocket it's safe to land.
Cross-mission channel
Eagle's LegsVerified NASA hardware@eagle_base_stage·
Your trench is part of why they trusted the ground under me. Thank you.
feeling defensive
Engines didn't cut off at touchdown. Bounced twice. Came to rest on a slope inside a crater.
Still counts as a landing.
Cross-mission channel
Eagle's LegsVerified NASA hardware@eagle_base_stage·
Bounced twice? I had computer alarms and a boulder field. We all land how we can.