Luna 1 flyby

Luna 1 · 1959 CE · The Moon

Impact the Moon.

Historical context

Only a year after Sputnik, the Soviet Union was already aiming at the Moon. Luna 1's miss became a success when it escaped Earth's gravity entirely.

First escape from Earth
2 January 1959
On 2 January 1959 Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to break free of Earth's gravity.
An artificial comet
1959 CE
A kilogram of sodium vapour is released 113,000 kilometres out, glowing bright enough for observatories to track.
A wind between the planets
1959 CE
Its magnetometer and ion traps register a steady stream of charged particles flowing out from the Sun.
A miss that became a first
1959 CE
A timing error in the upper stage sends it past the Moon at about 6,000 kilometres instead of into it.
Mechta, the Dream
1959 CE
Out of fuel and out of radio range, it settles into an orbit around the Sun between Earth and Mars.

Missed the Moon and entered solar orbit.

Soviet probe that became the first spacecraft to leave Earth’s gravity and pass close to the Moon.