To the Moon

When the space age began in the 1950s, scientists were eager to expand their knowledge of the worlds beyond Earth, previously seen only through tele­scopes. After the launch of the first satellites by the United States and Soviet Union in 1957 and 1958, the world waited expectantly for the first

rocket shot at the Moon. This came in January 1959, when the Soviet probe Luna 1 flew within 3,700 miles (5,920 kilometers) of the Moon. Two months later, the United States sent its probe Pioneer 4 to fly by the Moon. In September 1959, the Soviet Luna 2 probe crashed onto the Moon. Luna 3 flew around the Moon in October 1959 and took photographs of the far side, never before seen from Earth.