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
Luna-Glob of the Luna 25 lander in 2017. As of August 2018, Luna 25 is planned to be launched in 2021, Luna 26 in 2022, Luna 27 in 2023, Luna 28 in 2024, and Lunas 29, 30, 31 in 2026. The Luna-Glob programme is a continuation of the Soviet Union Luna programme that sent at least twenty-four orbiters and landers between 1959 and 1976 to the Moon, of which fifteen were successful. The last mission was Luna 24, launched on 9 August 1976. Initially, the first Luna-Glob mission was planned as orbiter with ground penetrating sensors. Four Japanese-built penetrators inherited from