The development of Earth’s natural satellite began with the Luna 2 probe. In 1959, this Soviet spacecraft became the first artificial vehicle to reach the surface of the Moon. It ushered in an era of great discoveries: the launch of the first automatic probes, the first lunar rover, and the first man to set foot on the Moon. Interest in lunar flights waned for some time after that, but now human eyes are again turning moonwards. Our report covers all lunar missions: from the first success of Luna 2 and the Apollo program to plans for new expeditions and the establishment of lunar bases.In October 1957, the USSR fired the first shot in the conquest of outer space by launching Sputnik 1, the world’s first artificial satellite (in Russian sputnik literally means “satellite”). A year later, both the USSR and the U.S. set themselves the target of reaching the Moon. The Soviet lunar program was handled by Experimental Design Bureau No.1 (OKB 1) under the leadership of chief designer Sergei Korolyov. The first launches of both countries were unsuccessful. In January 1959, the USSR sent the Luna 1 probe to the Moon. But due to a mathematical error, the device flew past its target and entered solar orbit, becoming the first artificial planet, known in Russian as Mechta (Dream).
The launch of Luna 2 was put back three times. After all problems were finally resolved, the Vostok L rocket carrying Luna 2 lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the morning of September 12, 1959.The spacecraft had no propulsion system of its own, so it was impossible to adjust the flight path after launch. Any minor error could have led to a serious deviation from the planned trajectory. For instance, a miscalculation of the rocket speed by just 0.01% would have caused the probe to miss its lunar rendezvous by 250 km. Although some inaccuracies did creep in at launch, they were not serious enough to knock the mission off course.Luna 2 crashed into the surface of the Moon approximately 800 km from the center of the visible disk. Around 30 minutes later, the third stage of the launch vehicle fell in the same place.
This area was subsequently named the Bay of Lunnik (Latin: Sinus Lunicus). Thanks to the achievements of Soviet science, the Sea of Moscow (Mare Moscoviense), the Gagarin and Tereshkova craters, and other landmarks also appeared on the lunar map.However, in the Cold War climate of the day, it was no easy task to convince the world that the Soviet apparatus had actually reached the Moon. The problem had been debated long before Luna 2 was even launched. In 1957, physicist Yakov Zeldovich even suggested using an atomic bomb, the idea being that an explosion of such force on the lunar surface would be picked up by all the world’s major observatories. Thankfully, the plan was rejected.
Astrophysicist Iosef Shklovsky’s solution was to turn the probe into an “artificial comet.” Accordingly, it was proposed that at a distance of more than 100,000 km from Earth the rocket would release a cloud of sodium vapor able to be seen by the naked eye for some time. This technology was ultimately deployed in Luna 1 and Luna 2.
Soviet mission control decided to inform Professor Bernard Lovell, director of Jodrell Bank Observatory in the UK, of the successful launch. The observatory registered the lunar impact and passed the information to colleagues at NASA, who subsequently confirmed the Soviets’ cosmonautic triumph.As part of the image campaign, four metal pennants were delivered to the surface of the Moon: two (one spherical, one ribbon) in the Luna 2 spacecraft, and two larger ones in the third stage of the launch vehicle. The spherical pennant consisted of 72 pentagonal elements, each engraved with the Soviet emblem and the launch date. The previous failures meant that it had to be re engraved five times for each new launch date. Today, a replica can be seen at the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics.On September 15, the day after the completion of the Luna 2 mission, the first visit of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to the United States got underway. During the trip, he presented US President Dwight Eisenhower with replicas of the pennants. In his speech, Khrushchev said: “We have no doubt that the excellent scientists, engineers, and workers of the United States of America, who work in the field of space exploration, will also deliver a pennant to the Moon. The Soviet pennant, as an old lunar resident, will welcome your pennant, and they will live together in peace and friendship...”
The success of Luna 2 was the starting point in the study and development of Earth’s natural satellite.In light of the Soviet Union’s advance into outer space (Sputnik 1, Luna 2, Luna 3, and then Vostok 1 with Yuri Gagarin on board), the United States decided to do whatever it took to be the first to land on the Moon.
On May 25, 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in a speech to Congress and the American people, stated: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” With that, Kennedy officially launched the U.S. lunar program.
But the Americans still lagged way behind the Soviets in the Moon Race. On February 3, 1966, another Soviet spacecraft Luna 9, developed by Lavochkin Design Bureau made the very first soft landing on the Moon (and the first ever survivable landing on a celestial body), and transmitted TV images of the lunar surface back to Earth.
Then in April 1966, Soviet engineers put the first artificial satellite into lunar orbit. That was Luna 10. And in September 1968, the Zond 5 probe was launched with two Central Asian turtles on board. The device circled the Moon and returned to Earth, delivering the animals safe and sound.But in 1968, the United States got a head start on the Soviet Union. In late December, the Americans, in a mad rush and without additional ground tests, launched Apollo 8. The Soviet leadership considered this mission to be pure adventurism. The manned flight seemed particularly premature against the backdrop of the Apollo 1 tragedy, when the crew was burned alive during a launch rehearsal test. But the mission was a success, and astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders became the first humans to fly around the Moon.
The crowning achievement of the U.S. program was Apollo 11. On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, marking the United States’ victory in the Moon Race. That was followed by five more Apollo expeditions to Earth’s natural satellite. The final one, Apollo 17, took place in December 1972. After that, due to the exorbitant costs and rather hazy prospects, the U.S. program to conquer the Moon was wound up. Incidentally, just a few years later, the Soviet program was also put on ice. Since then, no human being has set foot on the surface of the Moon.The revival of interest in the Moon came not from America or Europe but from Asia, when in 1990 Japan sent the Hiten probe to study Earth’s natural satellite. Later, NASA and ESA sent vehicles into lunar orbit. In the 2000s, China and India also set their sights on the Moon. That marked the start of the unofficial Second Moon Race.The most attractive landing site is the south pole of the Moon. Frozen water is present there at the bottom of the craters, while the ridges provide a place for continuous recharging of solar panels. It is at the south pole that Russia’s Luna 25 lander (also known as the Luna Glob project) intends to touch down in 2022 2024. As in Soviet times, the program is being developed by the Lavochkin design bureau (renamed NPO Lavochkin), now part of the Russian Space Agency.In addition, the Institute of Biomedical Problems under the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with NASA and experts from Russia, Germany, France, Italy, and other countries, is conducting the SIRIUS (Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station) isolation experiment. Over a period of five years, a crew of six will carry out a series of isolation experiments lasting four, eight, and twelve months.
Humanity’s return to the Moon is now only a matter of time. Do or die battles for supremacy are a thing of the past. Ahead lie all kinds of discoveries. The future is waiting to be made. |
