Robotic pioneers exploring and sampling the Moon.
The Luna program was a series of robotic missions sent by the Soviet Union to the Moon between 1959 and 1976. These spacecraft achieved many “firsts” in lunar exploration: first impact, first flyby, first images of the far side, and the first soft landings and sample returns.
Together, they turned the Moon from a distant light in the sky into a studied world with mapped terrain, measured soil, and returned rock samples.
Agency: Soviet Space Program
Active Years: 1959–1976
Targets: Lunar surface & environment
The Luna missions proved that precision landings, remote science, and sample returns were possible without human crews. Their success paved the way for all later robotic exploration of planetary surfaces.