Luna 1 (also known as theFirst Cosmic Ship,[3]Cosmic Rocket[4] andMechta[4] (Russian:Мечта,Literal translation:Dream)) was aspace probe of theSoviet Union.[5] It was the first mission in theLuna programme[5] and it was the firstspacecraft to reach theMoon.[4][5] Luna 1 made some keyscientific discoveries[5] and it is one of the best achievements of theSoviet Union space programme.[5]
The spacecraft wassphere-shaped.[4] Fiveantennae came out of one end.[4] Instrument ports came out of thesurface of the sphere.[4] It also had variousmetallic emblems with theSoviet coat of arms.[4]
Luna 1 hadradio equipment,[4][5] a trackingtransmitter[4][5] and atelemetering system[4] forcommunication withEarth.[4][5] The spacecraft carried several scientific devices too.[4] These included amagnetometer,[4][5] a device for measuringmagnetic fields,[5] ascintillation counter[4][5] (a device for detecting high energyparticles[5]) and ageiger counter[4][5] (a device for measuringradiation[5]). Luna 1 also carried amicrometeorite detector and other equipment.[4]
The space probe was launched on January 2, 1959[3][4][5] atBaikonur Cosmodrome[3][4][5] by a SS-6 Sapwood rocket.[4][5] The launch was successful and Luna 1 became the first man-made object ever to reach theescape velocity of theEarth.[3][5]
On January 3, 1959, the spacecraft released acloud ofsodiumgas so thatastronomers could track the probe and also to serve as anexperiment on the behaviour of gas inspace.[4][5]
Luna 1 was intended to impact the Moon's surface.[4][5] However, on January 4, 1959, it passed within 5995km[4] of the Moon and began to orbit theSun[3][4][5] between theorbits of Earth andMars,[3][4] where it is still orbiting now,[3] on a 450 day orbit.[3] Thus, Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to orbit the Sun.[5]
