The Ranger program was a NASA series of spacecraft missions developed to obtain close-range images of the Moon. The successful Ranger 7, 8 and 9 missions in 1964–1965 transmitted images during their approach and then impacted the surface.[ref]
Ranger to the Moon by NASA. Mission chronology and impact-imaging design
Each carried multiple television cameras with different fields of view and timing. As distance decreased, the pictures resolved progressively smaller surface features; the scientific record survived through radio transmission even though the spacecraft did not survive impact. These images helped characterize craters, roughness and possible landing terrain. Comparing Ranger's approach imaging with the later Surveyor program's surface measurements shows how different mission designs answer complementary engineering questions.[ref]
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