Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon, and the first man-made object to land on another celestial body. It was the second of the Soviet Union's Luna programme spacecraft launched in the direction of the Moon. Luna 2 impacted the lunar surface east of Mare Serenitatis near the Aristides, Archimedes, and Autolycus craters. Luna 2 was similar in design to Luna 1, a spherical spacecraft with protruding antennae and instrument parts. The spacecraft also carried Soviet pennants. There were no propulsion systems on Luna 2 itself. The mission confirmed that the Moon had no appreciable magnetic field, and found no evidence of radiation belts at the Moon.
On 14 September, after 33.5 hours of flight, radio signals from Luna 2 abruptly ceased, indicating it had impacted on the Moon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_2
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1959-014A
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/image/luna_2.jpg
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