Launch of Luna 9

Luna 9 was a Soviet space probe that made the first soft landing on the Moon, in the Oceanus Procellarum, a few days after its launch. It was a small capsule that opened up after landing, and sent back the first photographs from the lunar surface, which showed that the ground was firm enough to support a spacecraft, resolving the fear of some scientists that it would sink into deep dust. The pictures were first published by the British Jodrell Bank Observatory, which had picked up the signals. Luna 9 followed a series of failed Soviet attempts at a soft landing, and it was a notable success in the space race with the United States.

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