November 3, 1996
Your birthday marks the moment a small planet circling a modest star gained another witness to its wonders.
Surveyor Night Launch Credit:
Birthday · November 3, 1996
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published November 3, 1996. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
In early November of 1967, a dramatic night launch of an Atlas Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral lofted the successful Surveyor 6 spacecraft toward the Moon. The Surveyor series of robotic probes carried out the first US lunar soft landings in preparation for the Apollo program. Still in use today, Atlas Centaur rockets launched many lunar and planetary probes in the 60s and 70s.