Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to leave the gravitational influence of Earth. Also in 1959, Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another celestial body, impacting the Moon, and Luna 3 returned the first images of the far side of the Moon.
Overview
Orbital and suborbital launches
Deep Space Rendezvous Date (GMT)SpacecraftEventRemarks4 January Luna 1 First Lunar flyby Failed impactor, closest approach: 4 March Pioneer 4 Lunar flyby Closest approach: 14 September Luna 2 First Lunar impact Landed in Mare Imbrium, first spacecraft to reach the surface of a celestial body6 October Luna 3 Lunar flyby First Circumlunar flight, returned 29 pictures including first images of the far side of the Moon; closest approach
Orbital launch statistics By country
Country Launches Successes Failures Partialfailures 4 2 1 1 19 9 9 1 World
By rocket Rocket Country Tipe Family Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Atlas D-Able Atlas-Able Atlas 1 0 1 0 Maiden flight Juno II Juno Jupiter 4 1 2 1 Luna 8K72 Vostok R-7 4 2 1 1 Thor DM-18 Agena-A Thor-Agena Thor 8 5 3 0 Maiden flight Thor DM-18 Able-II Thor-Able Thor 1 0 1 0 Thor DM-18 Able-III Thor-Able Thor 1 1 0 0 Vanguard Vanguard Viking 4 2 2 0 Retired
By family Family Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks Atlas 1 0 1 0 Jupiter 4 1 2 1 R-7 4 2 1 1 Thor 10 6 4 0 Viking 4 2 2 0 Retired
By orbit Orbital regime Launches Successes Failures AccidentallyAchieved Remarks Low Earth 12 7 5 0 Medium Earth 4 1 3 0 High Earth 2 2 0 0 Including Highly elliptical orbits Heliocentric 5 3 2 0
See also Timeline of spaceflight
References
Footnotes