Luna 1 but it was a second or two before we realised what we had". The picture shows the lights of Edinburgh in the foreground. The rocket is seen as an illuminated cloud top centre." "Luna 1" was meant to crash on the Moon; however, due to a malfunction of the ground control system, the probe missed its target by 5,995 kilometers. Despite this, "Luna 1" still managed to collect vital information to assist in the understanding of the universe. Its goal to crash on the Moon was subsequently achieved by Luna 2 on September 13, 1959. Luna 1 Luna 1, also
Luna 1 instruments to study the Moon and interplanetary space; including a magnetometer, geiger counter, scintillation counter, and micrometeorite detector. "Luna 1" was designed to impact the Moon, delivering two metallic pennants with the Soviet coat of arms that were included into its package. This mission was eventually accomplished by "Luna 2". "Luna 1" was launched at 16:41 GMT (22:41 local time) on 2 January 1959 from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Luna 8K72 rocket. "Luna 1" became the first man-made object to reach the escape velocity of the Earth, along with its carrier rocket's upper stage, which it