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| A Luna 4 launch cover, postmarked in Baku with a hand cancel on April 2, 1963. |
Luna 4 was a Soviet unmanned lunar lander launched from Baikonur on April 2, 1963. It was the first Soviet spacecraft of the Ye-6 series, designed to achieve a controlled soft landing on the Moon.
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| A Luna 4 launch cover, postmarked in Magadan with a hand cancel on April 2, 1963. |
After launch, Luna 4 successfully entered a translunar trajectory, but a planned mid-course correction failed. As a result, the spacecraft missed the Moon, passing approximately 8,400 km from the lunar surface on April 5 instead of landing.
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| A Luna 4 lunar flyby cover, postmarked in Simferopol with a hand cancel on April 5, 1963. |
