| Aug. 17, 1958 |
Pioneer 0 |
Flyby |
Launch failed; booster explosion after liftoff |
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| Oct. 11, 1958 |
Pioneer 1 |
Flyby |
FlybyLaunch failed; uneven separation of second and third stages |
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| Nov. 8, 1958 |
Pioneer 2 |
Flyby |
Launch failed; third-stage ignition failure |
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| Dec. 6, 1958 |
Pioneer 3 |
Flyby |
Premature cessation of engine burn, apogee 107,500 km; discovered two radiation shells around earth |
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Passed within 5965 km of moon; measured lunar magnetic field and radioactivity |
Undisclosed |
Luna 1 |
Jan. 2, 1959 |
| Mar. 3, 1959 |
Pioneer 4 |
Flyby |
Missed moon by 59,000 km, tracked to 650,000 km; injection velocity low; measured cosmic radiation |
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First lunar impact; found moon to have virtually no magnetic field |
Impact |
Luna 2 |
Sep. 12, 1959 |
| Sep.24, 1959 |
Atlas-Able 4 |
Lunar orbit |
Pad explosion during static tests, vehicle destroyed; planned for launch in October 1959 |
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Circled moon; successfully photographed 60 percent of backside hemisphere of moon |
Circumlunar |
Luna 3 |
Oct. 4, 1959 |
| Nov.26, 2959 |
Atlas-Able (P-3) |
Lunar orbit |
Launch failed; shroud collapsed during launch destroying satellite |
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| Sep.25, 1960 |
Atlas-Able (P-30) |
Lunar orbit |
Launch failed; second stage malfunctioned |
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| Dec. 15, 1960 |
Atlas-Able (P-31) |
Lunar orbit |
Launch failed; vehicle exploded at 70 seconds |
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| Jan.26, 1962 |
Ranger 3 |
Seismic capsule rough landing |
Missed moon by 36,589 km; launch vehicle guidance system failures. Ranger midcourse maneuver was mirror image of planned course correction |
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| Apr. 23, 1962 |
Ranger 4 |
Seismic capsule rough landing |
Lunar impact; spacecraft computer-timer failure caused loss of mission |
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| Oct. 18, 1962 |
Ranger 5 |
Seismic capsule rough landing |
Missed moon by 720 km; Ranger spacecraft power failure rendered midcourse correction and operation of most experiments impossible |
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Apparently intended as soft lander, missed moon by 8451 km; cause of failure not disclosed |
Undisclosed |
Luna 4 |
Apr. 2, 1963 |
| Jan.30, 1964 |
Ranger 6 |
Television impactor |
Lunar impact (Sea of Tranquility); returned no pictures, television transmission failed |
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| Jul. 28, 1964 |
Ranger 7 |
Television impactor |
Lunar impact (Sea of Clouds); returned first high-resolution pictures of lunar mare |
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| Feb.17, 1965 |
Ranger 8 |
Television impactor |
Lunar impact (Sea of Tranquility); returned additional high-resolution pictures of lunar mare |
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| Mar. 21, 1965 |
Ranger 9 |
Television impactor |
Lunar impact (Crater Alphonsus); returned high-resolution pictures of highland crater |
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Lunar impact, intended soft landing failed; cause of failure not disclosed |
Soft lander |
Luna 5 |
May 9, 1965 |
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Missed moon by 160,000 km; midcourse correction failed |
Soft lander |
Luna 6 |
Jun. 8, 1965 |
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Solar orbit; returned first clear pictures of backside of moon |
Photographic flyby |
Zond 7 |
Jul. 18, 1965 |
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Lunar impact; intended soft landing faded; landing system failure |
Soft lander |
Luna 8 |
Oct. 4, 1965 |
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Lunar impact; intended soft landing failed; landing system failure |
Soft lander |
Luna 9 |
Dec. 3, 1965 |