In February of 1966, the Soviet Union announced yet another “first” in the Space Race: the first spacecraft to land on the Moon. Luna 9 touched down on February 3rd, and over the next three days, it transmitted nine pictures of its surroundings in the Ocean of Storms. The Soviets had been trying to land on the Moon for years. But 11 previous attempts had exploded during launch, failed to leave Earth orbit, crashed into the Moon, or missed the Moon entirely. Luna 9 finally succeeded. During three days of operations, it beamed back panoramas of its landing site, on the slope of a small crater. The images revealed small rocks and a powdery “soil” known as regolith. To the relief of those working on sending astronauts to the Moon, the regolith was firm enough to support the lander’s weight — it didn’t sink from sight, as some had feared. At first, the Soviets didn’t release any of Luna’s pictures. But that didn’t stop the world from seeing them. The Jodrell Bank Observatory in England was
