Luna 2

Description

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. The instrumentation was also similar, including scintillation- and geiger- counters, a magnetometer, and micrometeorite detectors. The spacecraft also carried Soviet pennants. There were no propulsion systems on Luna 2 itself.

After launch and attainment of escape velocity on 12 September 1959 (13 September Moscow time), Luna 2 separated from its third stage, which travelled along with it towards the Moon. On 13 September the spacecraft released a bright orange cloud of sodium gas which aided in spacecraft tracking and acted as an experiment on the behavior of gas in space. On 14 September at 21:02:23 UT, after 33.5 hours of flight, radio signals from Luna 2 abruptly ceased, indicating it had impacted on the Moon, making it the first spacecraft to contact another solar system body. The impact point, in the Palus Putredinus region, is very roughly estimated to have occurred at 0 degrees longitude, 29.1 degrees N latitude, most estimates give it as within the range 29 to 31 N, 1 W to 1 E. Some 30 minutes after Luna 2, the third stage of its rocket also impacted the Moon at an unknown location. The mission confirmed that the Moon had no appreciable magnetic field, and found no evidence of radiation belts at the Moon.

Spacecraft image for illustrative purposes - not necessarily in the public domain.