Luna 9 — the first soft landing

1966: the first picture from another world

Three years before people, in 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first to land safely on the Moon. It was round like a ball; after landing it opened its 'petals', photographed the surroundings and sent the pictures to Earth. Those photos showed that the Moon's surface is solid — before that, many feared the Moon would swallow a spacecraft in dust!

Luna 9 landed on 3 February 1966 in the west of the Ocean of Storms — the first soft landing on another celestial body. The 99 kg sealed capsule was slowed by a braking engine, dropped from 5 m and rolled to a stop; four 'petals' then opened to right it. A panoramic camera transmitted pictures in 3 sessions (intercepted and first published by Britain's Jodrell Bank observatory). The finding: the regolith is firm, with only 1–2 cm of dust — safe to land on. This cleared the way for the Apollo and Surveyor programmes.

Fun facts

• Before Luna 9, 11 Luna attempts had failed — persistence won.
• The photos were first published not by the Russians but by the British — they intercepted the signal!
• Luna 9's camera is still standing where it landed.