Luna 2
Courtesy of NASA's National Space Science Data Center
Launch Date: 1959-09-12
Launch Site/Country: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R.
Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with 2nd Generation (Longer) Upper Stage
On-orbit dry mass: 390.20 kg. (854.4 lb.)
Description
Luna 2 was the second of a series of spacecraft launched in the direction
of the Moon. The instrument package reached the surface of the Moon on
September 14, 1959. The first spacecraft to land on the Moon, it impacted
the lunar surface east of Mare Serenitatis near the Aristides, Archimedes,
and Autolycus craters. Some 30 minutes after Luna 2, the last stage of its
rocket also impacted the Moon.
Space History
Views of the Solar System Copyright © 1997 by
Calvin J. Hamilton. All rights reserved.