Detail of the Surveyor's "Soil Mechanics/Surface Sampler device," or scoop arm,
located on the lower part of the body, between
two of the landing legs. During flight, the SM/SS was stowed against the
body of the spacecraft, but its scissors jack arm could be extended
approximately 1.5 meters and could move radially through a range of 112
degrees.
This experiment, carried on the Surveyor III and Surveyor VII missions, was
used to provide data about the lunar soil based on picking, digging, and
handling of lunar surface material. Note the scoop itself, at bottom (with the yellow and black stripes).
The Cosmosphere displays the scoop
from Surveyor III, returned from the moon's surface by the Apollo 12 astronauts.
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