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.
1963-04-02 USSR Luna 4
Luna 4, launched on 2 April 1963 by the Soviet Union, was believed to be an attempt to soft land on the moon. Its engine failed to fire for a trajectory correction, so the spacecraft failed to reach the moon. Contact was lost after it past within 9,300 kilometers (5,780 miles) of the moon.