Forerunner
Date: 18 Nov 1969

Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean recovered a camera and soil scoop from Surveyor 3 more than two and a half years after it landed on the moon. Scientists back on Earth study the equipment to measure the effects of long term exposure on the lunar surface.

Surveyor 3 landed on the moon on 20 April 1967, paving the way for the Apollo crew that visited it almost two years later.

Credit: NASA