In 1959 the Soviet probe Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to crash into the Moon. The intentional Moon strike was one of a number of early Soviet victories in the intense space race with the United States (started by the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957).
Luna 2 was one of 24 unmanned probes in the Luna programme. Also in 1959, Luna 1 missed the Moon and entered an orbit around the Sun.
Photo: The Luna 2 probe (NASA)
On 13 September 1959, the Russians triumphed with Luna 2 (also known as Lunik 2), the first Moon probe, which was intentionally crashed into the lunar surface. The mission was tracked from Jodrell Bank in the UK.
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. It successfully impacted with the lunar surface east of Mare Imbrium near the craters Aristides, Archimedes, and Autolycus.
Luna 2 was similar in design to Luna 1, a spherical spacecraft with protruding antennae and instrument parts. The instrumentation was also similar, including scintillation counters, geiger counters, a magnetometer, Cherenkov detectors, and micrometeorite detectors. There were no propulsion systems on Luna 2 itself.
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