Luna 2: a human-made probe reaches the Moon

After the first satellites reached Earth orbit, the Soviet programme sent probes toward the Moon. These missions required higher speeds and a trajectory matched to the Moon’s future position. Luna 1 passed near the Moon early in 1959 and entered solar orbit.

Luna 2, launched in September, again targeted the lunar surface. It carried instruments and radio equipment on a direct path, with ground stations following its signals.

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Luna 2 launched on September 12, 1959, and reached the Moon the following day. The impact occurred during the evening of September 13 in Universal Time, already September 14 in Moscow. Its signal ceased at the expected arrival, as a human-made probe reached another celestial body.

The flight ended in impact, without a braking landing manoeuvre. The mission delivered hardware to the Moon and collected measurements during approach.

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Magnetic-field and particle instruments measured the environment between Earth and Moon. The lunar approach found no strong global magnetic field comparable to Earth’s; particle measurements contributed to subsequent work on the solar wind and lunar surroundings.

Radio communication extended to lunar distances. Tracking determined position and arrival time while scientific instruments sampled conditions unavailable to laboratory experiments on Earth.

References: [1] [2]

Luna 2 combined launch, long-distance tracking and a lunar encounter in a successful flight. Luna 3 subsequently returned farside photographs, while later missions developed orbital observation, soft landing and sample return.

The 1960 Space Activities Summary included Luna 2 among the early missions. Launch and impact dates, radio tracking and instrument results preserve the course of this arrival at the Moon.

References: [1] [2]