Exploration of the Moon Exploration of the Moon The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observation from Earth. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the first leap in the quality of lunar observations. Galileo Galilei is generally credited as the first person to use a telescope for astronomical purposes; having made his own telescope in 1609, the mountains and craters on the lunar surface were among his
A Trip to the Moon (Chronicle) A Trip to the Moon (Chronicle) A Trip to the Moon is a 1964 television science fiction comedy film, produced as an episode of the CBS series "Chronicle". The script was written by Jonathan Miller and Robert Goldman, based on Jules Verne's novel "From the Earth to the Moon". All characters are portrayed by Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Miller, and Dudley Moore, who had first worked together in the revue "Beyond the Fringe". The hour-long show adapts the plot of Verne's novel to comment satirically on the Moon race then underway between the United States and the Soviet Union, juxtaposing