The Space Race was a technological competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in demonstrating superiority in aerospace capabilities, including artificial satellites launches, robotic space probes to the Moon, Venus, and Mars, and human spaceflight in low Earth orbit and ultimately landing on the Moon. This blog features my collection of US and Soviet Union space events on covers and press photos.
1962-04-23 USA Ranger 4
After a successful launch on 23 April 1962, communication with Ranger 4 failed. The spacecraft could be tracked, until it crashed on the dark side of the Moon on 26 April 1962, but were unable to collect any data.
Ranger 4 crash landed on the moon on April 26, 1962, making it the first American spacecraft to reach the lunar surface.