Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. On January 8, 1973, the Soviet Union launched the Luna 21 mission to land a rover on the moon. This was the second time that the ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. On January 8, 1973, the Soviet Union launched the Luna 21 mission to land a rover on the moon.

In 1970 the Soviet Union deployed Lunokhod 1, the first remote controlled rover to explore the Moon, sending back thousands of images and scientific measurements before falling silent. Four decades ...

Humanity’s first successful lunar lander is missing. Sixty years ago the Soviet Luna 9 became the first human-made object to achieve a soft landing on the moon—or, for that matter, any celestial body.

Luna 9 had a bouncy touchdown on the lunar surface in 1966, becoming the first spacecraft to land on the Moon. Reading time 2 minutes On February 3, 1966, the Soviet Union’s Luna 9 became the first ...