Luna 2
First spacecraft to touch the lunar surface.
Luna 2, also known as the Second Soviet Cosmic Rocket and called Lunik 2 in the press at the time, was the Soviet Union's sixth Moon-bound spacecraft in the Luna program. It was the first human-made object to reach the Moon's surface and the first to contact another celestial body.
Launched on 12 September 1959 atop a Luna 8K72 rocket, the spacecraft took a direct route to the Moon. It carried radio transmitters that sent telemetry to Earth and released a cloud of sodium vapor so its path could be tracked visually. On 13 September 1959, it struck the Moon east of Mare Imbrium, near the craters Aristillus, Archimedes, and Autolycus. Just before impact, two sphere-shaped pennants engraved with the USSR emblem and the launch date in Cyrillic were designed to break apart, scattering pentagonal shields in all directions. Luna 2 found no radiation or magnetic belts around the Moon.
The mission was part of the Ye-1 series, with earlier attempts including an unnamed probe that exploded on launch on 23 September 1958, and two more failures on 11 October and 4 December 1958. Luna 1, the fourth attempt, launched on 2 January 1959 and missed the Moon by 5,965 kilometers. Between Luna
- Launch date
- 12 September 1959
- Impact date
- 13 September 1959 (UTC; 14 September Moscow Time)
- Launch vehicle
- Luna 8K72 s/n I1-7B rocket
- Mass
- 390.2 kilograms (860 lb)
- Nationality
- Soviet Union
- Known for
- First human-made object to impact the Moon
Lore & Background
Luna 2 was launched on 12 September 1959 by the Luna 8K72 s/n I1-7B rocket. It followed a direct path to the Moon. In addition to the radio transmitters sending telemetry information back to Earth, the spacecraft released a sodium vapour cloud so the spacecraft's movement could be visually observed. On 13 September 1959, it impacted the Moon's surface east of Mare Imbrium near the craters Aristillus, Archimedes, and Autolycus. Prior to impact, two sphere-shaped pennants with USSR and the launch date engraved in Cyrillic were designed to break apart, sending pentagonal shields in all directions. Luna 2 did not detect radiation or magnetic belts around the Moon.
The spacecraft carried five different types of instruments, including scintillation counters, Cherenkov radiation detectors, Geiger counters, and a three-component fluxgate magnetometer. Its instrumentation was powered by silver-zinc and mercury-oxide batteries. The probe also carried Soviet pennants: two sphere-shaped pennants with surfaces covered by 72 pentagonal elements, each made of titanium alloy, and a third pennant on the last stage of the rocket. Scientists took extra, unspecified precautions in preventing biological contamination of the Moon.
Reader's Guide
Luna 2's significance lies in being the first human-made object to reach another celestial body, marking a milestone in space exploration. It demonstrated the Soviet Union's capability to deliver a spacecraft to the Moon, providing direct measurements of the Van Allen radiation belt and showing time variations in electron flux and energy spectrum. Using ion traps, it made the first direct measurement of solar wind. The mission also involved international verification: Soviet scientists sent a telex to astronomer Bernard Lovell at Jodrell Bank Observatory, who confirmed the mission's success by tracking the probe and showing Doppler shift from its transmissions. Despite American media skepticism, Lovell's recording of the abrupt end of transmission helped convince observers of the mission's authenticity. Luna 2's impact also carried symbolic pennants, and the last stage of its rocket hit the Moon about 30 minutes later, though its landing site remained uncertain.
Did You Know?
- Luna 2 was originally named the Second Soviet Cosmic Rocket and nicknamed Lunik 2 in contemporaneous media.
- The spacecraft released a sodium vapour cloud that expanded to 650 kilometres (400 mi) in diameter, visible from observatories in Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia, and Tajikistan.
- Two sphere-shaped pennants on Luna 2 were designed to break apart on impact, scattering 72 pentagonal titanium shields engraved with the USSR emblem and the date.
- Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev alluded to a failed Luna attempt when US President Dwight Eisenhower asked about Soviet rocket failures.
More in Successful space missions 1-24
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