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| A Luna 9 launch cover postmarked in Tartu with a hand cancel on February 1, 1966, one day after the spacecraft’s launch. |
Luna 9 was a Soviet unmanned lunar lander launched from Baikonur on January 31, 1966. It successfully landed in Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms) on February 3, becoming the first spacecraft to make a successful soft landing on the Moon and the first to transmit photographs from the lunar surface.
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| Photo: The landing site of the Luna 9 spacecraft. |
The spacecraft was developed by the design bureau then known as OKB-1, under Chief Designer Sergei Korolev, who had passed away on January 14, 1966, at the age of 59, prior to the launch. The first 11 Luna missions faced failures for various reasons. Eventually, the project was handed over to the Lavochkin design bureau, as OKB-1 was occupied with plans for a human expedition to the Moon. Luna 9 marked the Soviet Union's twelfth attempt at a soft landing and became the first successful deep-space probe constructed by the Lavochkin bureau, which later went on to design and build nearly all Soviet (and later Russian) lunar and interplanetary spacecraft.
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| A Luna 9 moon landing cover postmarked with a black Moscow special hand cancel dated February 5, 1966. |
After landing, the spacecraft deployed its antennas and camera system. It transmitted three panoramic series of photographs showing the surrounding lunar landscape, including rocks and the horizon. The images provided the first direct visual evidence of the Moon's surface from ground level. Luna 9 also conducted experiments to determine the physical properties of the lunar surface, including its bearing strength, cohesiveness, and structure. This helped address concerns about whether the lunar soil was sufficiently firm to support spacecraft and, eventually, human landings. The lander operated through several communications sessions between February 3 and 6, 1966, before its batteries were exhausted.
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| Photo: Image of the Moon's surface transmitted by Luna 9 and received by the Jodrell Bank radio telescope in England. |
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| Photo: Sir Bernard Lovell (left) and Dr. Raymond Lyttleton examining Moon photographs received from the Luna 9 spacecraft. |
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| A Luna 9 First Day Cover from "KNIGA" postmarked in Moscow with a hand cancel on November 25, 1966. |
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| A postcard featuring an illustration of Luna 9 spacecraft, postmarked with a black Moscow special hand cancel on April 12, 1967. |
