On this day in 1959, the Soviet Union made space history when Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to reach another celestial body. The probe crash-landed on the lunar surface, marking the first human-made object to impact the Moon.
Launched on 12 September 1959 from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome, Luna 2 was a spherical spacecraft packed with instruments, antennas and scientific payloads. After a 36-hour flight, it struck the Moon’s surface on 13 September near the Mare Imbrium region.
A milestone in the space race
The Luna 2 Moon impact was a major propaganda victory for the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War and the space race. It demonstrated that the USSR could not only launch satellites into orbit — as it had with Sputnik in 1957 — but also reach another world.
The mission carried scientific instruments that detected solar wind particles, cosmic rays, and measured the Moon’s lack of magnetic field. It also released sodium vapour in space to create a glowing orange cloud visible from Earth, confirming the probe’s trajectory.
Paving the way for exploration
Though it did not return data after impact, Luna 2 proved that interplanetary travel was possible and paved the way for later missions, including Luna 9, which achieved the first soft landing in 1966.
For the world, the 1959 mission was a reminder that humanity had taken its first steps beyond Earth – and that the race to explore the Moon was accelerating.
The Luna 2 Moon impact remains a turning point in space exploration, symbolising both the technological triumph and the political competition of the era.
Also read: ON THIS DAY: Nasa’s spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars (1976)
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