Luna 2: first human-made object to reach the Moon
Luna 2: primer objeto humano que llega a la Luna
- Date
- 13-14 de septiembre de 1959 · confidence high
- Place
- Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan (USSR)
- Credited to
- Soviet Luna programme (Sergei Korolev's OKB-1)
- Field
- Movement
What was discovered
The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashed on the Moon on 13-14 September 1959, near the craters Archimedes, Aristillus and Autolycus, after a two-day trip. It was the first man-made object to reach another celestial body and carried pennants bearing the Soviet emblem.
Impact was on 13 September at 21:02 UTC (14 September Moscow time); hence both dates are quoted.
What it led to
- confirmation that the Moon has no appreciable magnetic field or radiation belt of its own
- direct detection of the solar wind
- the lunar race and the Luna and Apollo programmes