Ranger 8 was a lunar probe in the Ranger program, a robotic spacecraft series launched by NASA in the early and mid-1960s to obtain the first close-up images of the Moon's surface. These pictures helped select landing sites for future Apollo missions and were used for scientific study. During its 1965 mission, it transmitted 7,137 lunar surface photographs before it crashed into the Moon as planned. This was the second successful mission in the Ranger series, following Ranger 7's. Ranger 8's design and purpose was very similar to its predecessor, Ranger 7. It also had six television vidicon cameras: two full-scan cameras, and four partial-scan cameras. Its sole purpose was to document the Moon's surface.