Sep 12, 2019 · Right: Luna 1 shown attached to its upper stage. Credits: RKK Energiya. Following another launch failure in June 1959, the Soviets launched their second Cosmic Rocket (later renamed Luna 2) on Sep. 12 and it successfully achieved escape velocity and placed the spacecraft, virtually identical to Luna 1, on an intercept course with the Moon.

Luna 2 (Russian: Луна 2), originally named the Second Soviet Cosmic Rocket and nicknamed Lunik 2 in contemporaneous media, was the sixth of the Soviet Union 's Luna programme spacecraft launched to the Moon, E-1 No.7.

5 days ago · Luna 2 was the second of a series of spacecraft launched in the direction of the Moon. The first spacecraft to land on the Moon, it impacted the lunar surface east of Mare Serenitatis near the Aristides, Archimedes, and Autolycus craters. Luna 2 was similar in design to Luna 1, a spherical spacecraft with protruding antennae and instrument parts.

This video covers the remarkable journey of Luna 2, the first human-made spacecraft to successfully reach the moon’s surface on September 14, 1959. Known as ...

Sep 12, 2019 · Luna 2 was the first human-made object to make contact with an object outside of our planet. However, Luna 2 wasn't the first attempt at launching a spacecraft to the moon.

Sep 14, 2024 · Learn about Luna 2, the Soviet spacecraft that became the first human-made object to reach the Moon on September 14, 1959, marking a key milestone in the space race.

Luna 2 was the second spacecraft in Soviet Union's Luna programme to probe the Moon. Luna 2 was launched on 12 September 1959 and it crash landed on the Moon the next day.

Luna 2 was developed as part of the Soviet Union’s ambitious lunar program, which sought to explore and understand the Moon. The spacecraft was designed to be a direct follow-up to Luna 1, which had been the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon but had missed its target.

Sep 9, 2009 · Richard Cavendish explains how, on September 12th, 1959, the Soviet Union launched Luna 2, the first spacecraft to successfully reach the Moon.

Sep 14, 2011 · 1959: Luna 2 becomes the first artifact of humanity to strike the moon. The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik-like probe from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sept. 12. It took 33.5 hours to reach its ...