LUNA 2 was launched from the USSR in 1959, and was the first probe to visit the Moon’s surface, although it did not so much land as crash. Ranger 7, an American probe, also crashed on the Moon’s surface in 1964. It managed to take over 4000 close-up pictures. Luna 9 was the first probe to land successfully on the Moon in 1966. It sent back television pictures of the barren surface.
In January 1959, a small Soviet sphere bristling with antennas, Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravity, a huge feat. Although Luna 1 did not reach the moon’s surface, as was likely intended, the spacecraft flew within about 4,000 miles of it. Its suite of scientific equipment revealed for the first time that the moon had no magnetic field.
Later in 1959, Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to land on the moon’s surface, making impact near the Aristides, Archimedes, and Autolycus craters. A third Luna mission subsequently captured the first, blurry, images of the far side of the moon.
Nine NASA Ranger spacecraft’s, launched between 1961 and 1965, gave scientists the first close-up looks at the moon’s surface. The Ranger missions were kamikaze-style; the spacecraft were engineered to streak straight toward the moon and capture as many images as possible before crashing onto its surface. In 1962, Ranger 4 was the first Ranger spacecraft to hit its target, the moon. Unfortunately, Ranger 4 slammed into the far side of the moon before collecting any scientific data.
Two years later, however, Ranger 7 streaked toward the moon and captured more than 4,000 photos in the 15 minutes before it smashed onto the surface. Images from all the Ranger missions, particularly Ranger 9, highlighted the moon’s rough terrain and the potential challenges of finding a smooth landing site.
In 1966, the Soviet spacecraft Luna 9 overcame the moon’s topographic hurdles and became the first vehicle to soft-land safely on the surface. The small craft was stocked with scientific and communications equipment and photographed a ground-level lunar panorama. Luna 10 launched later that year and became the first spacecraft to successfully orbit the moon.
Picture Credit : Google