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
Moon escape Earth's gravity and pass near the Moon was "Luna 1"; the first human-made object to impact the lunar surface was "Luna 2", and the first photographs of the normally occluded far side of the Moon were made by "Luna 3", all in 1959. The first spacecraft to perform a successful lunar soft landing was "Luna 9" and the first unmanned vehicle to orbit the Moon was "Luna 10", both in 1966. Rock and soil samples were brought back to Earth by three "Luna" sample return missions ("Luna 16" in 1970, "Luna 20" in 1972, and "Luna 24" in 1976),