Feb. 3, 1966: Luna 9 efficiently lands

Luna 9 transmitted the primary images from the floor of the Moon — which, in an odd twist, had been launched by the British earlier than the Soviets when Jodrell Financial institution Observatory intercepted their transmission. Credit score: Nationwide House Science Information Heart

On Jan. 31, 1966, the Soviets launched Luna 9 from Baikonur Cosmodrome with a plan to land on the floor of the Moon. Missions within the three earlier years had been fraught, with Luna 4 and 6 lacking the Moon totally, and Luna 5, 7, and eight crashing into its floor.

Three days later, at an altitude of 5,157 miles (8,300 kilometers) above the floor of the Moon, Luna 9 aligned itself for its try and started the descent. Retrorockets kicked in at an altitude of about 47 miles (75 km), burning for 46 to 48 seconds. This slowed the spacecraft from 1.6 miles per second (2.6 km per second) to 82 toes, or about 0.015 miles, per second (25 meters per second). The descent took about an hour; because the floor neared, a shock-resistant capsule separated from the rocket and impacted the Moon within the Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms). The 220-pound (100 kilogram) capsule opened 4 “petals” to stabilize itself, and deployed its antennas, transmitting the primary images from the Moon. This primary touchdown proved that, moderately than being lined in unstable mud as had been theorized, the lunar floor was agency sufficient to assist a spacecraft.