February 3, 2023
On this date in 1966, the uncrewed Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first man-made object to make a soft landing on the Moon. Although the images taken by Luna 9 were not immediately released by the Soviet Union, British astronomers used standard radiofax technology of the time to intercept the image transmissions. The images were then published in newspapers around the world.
This photo, taken by the Luna 9 probe, is the first taken from the surface of the Moon. Image credit: Roscosmos
