What was the name of the first space probe to land on the moon on 13 Sept., 1959?

Luna 2 (E-1A series) was the second of the Soviet Union's Luna programme spacecraft launched to the Moon. It was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon, and the first man-made object to land on another celestial body. On September 14, 1959, it successfully landed east of Mare Imbrium near the craters Aristides, Archimedes, and Autolycus.

Test your knowledge

What are your thoughts on this subject?

14 Comments

Carolyn Brior

Kennedy challenged NASA to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, not because he was that excited about space travel but because he wanted to beat the Soviets.

Charles Gallagher

It didn’t really land on the moon, but impacted (crashed into) it.

Dog001

Land on the moon....? You mean impacted the moon surface at 7,400 mph (3.3 km/s). The mastering of a soft landing on another body was still a decade away. The only real success of the mission apart from some science data enroute to the moon, was the successful release of half a dozen titanium pennants one emblazoned with the state emblem of the Soviet Union and CCCP. The remaining five with ("USSR" September 1959), explosively launched from the probe and rocket just before impact. They wanted to leave their mark for propaganda sake. Shortly after, Khrushchev made his only visit to the USA, and gifted a replica of the pennant to President Eisenhower. The mission was a success for the Soviets, but probably more so on the political side of things.