Luna 2 2" itself. Once "Luna 2" was split from its upper stage it started transmitting information back to Earth using three different transmitters. These transmitters provided precise information on its course, allowing scientists to calculate that "Luna 2" would hit its mark on the Moon around 00:05 on September 14 (Moscow Time). In order to be able to provide a visual from Earth on September 13, the spacecraft released a vapor cloud that would expand to diameter that would be seen by observatories in Alma Ata, Byurakan, Abastumani, Tbilisi, and Stalinabad. This vapor cloud also acted as an experiment to see
Luna 2 "СССР январь 1959" ("USSR January 1959") on the other side. They most likely vaporized on impact, however. The third pennant was located in the last stage of the "Luna 2" rocket, which collided with the Moon's surface 30 minutes after the spacecraft did. It was a capsule filled with liquid, with aluminium strips placed into it. On each of these strips the USSR Coat of Arms, the words "1959 январь" ("1959 January"), and the words "СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК" (English: "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics") were engraved. On September 15, 1959, the premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, presented