My working arm
I carried a surface-sampling instrument that could reach up to 5 feet (1.5 metres) from my body. It could dig down to 7 inches (18 centimetres), allowing scientists to observe how the soil behaved when disturbed and moved.
Scientists on Earth sent commands that directed the sampler to dig four trenches, perform four bearing tests and carry out thirteen impact tests. The television system watched the instrument manipulate lunar material, making the work observable from Earth.
Why this mattered
The sampler was more than a scoop. It was a remotely operated experiment that let engineers and scientists investigate the mechanical behaviour of the lunar surface before astronauts attempted to land there.
Mission facts on this page are drawn from the supplied NASA mission record and Asif A. Siddiqi, Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (NASA History Program Office, 2018). Surveyor 3 · NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission.