Exploration of the Moon and indeed of human history in general. The first man-made object to reach the Moon was the unmanned Soviet probe Luna 2, which made a hard landing on September 14, 1959, at 21:02:24 Z. The far side of the Moon was first photographed on October 7, 1959, by the Soviet probe Luna 3. Though vague by today's standards, the photos showed that the far side of the Moon almost completely lacked maria. In an effort to compete with these Soviet successes, U.S. President John F. Kennedy proposed the national goal of landing a human on the Moon. Speaking to a
1959 Okinawa F-100 crash children having dreams and hopes for the future were lost." The crash and its aftermath were dramatized in the movie "Himawari", directed by Yoshihiro Oikawa (b. 1958), completed in 2012. 1959 Okinawa F-100 crash The 1959 Okinawa F-100 crash occurred on June 30, 1959, in the Ishikawa area (now Uruma) of then United States (U.S.)-occupied Okinawa. In the crash, a United States Air Force North American F-100 Super Sabre on a training or test flight from nearby Kadena Air Base suffered an engine fire. The aircraft crashed into Miyamori Elementary School and surrounding houses, killing 11 students and six other