Luna 2 Luna 2 Luna 2 (E-1A series) or Lunik 2 was the second of the Soviet Union's Luna programme spacecraft launched to the Moon. It was the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon, and the first man-made object to land on another celestial body. On September 13, 1959, it hit the Moon's surface east of Mare Imbrium near the craters Aristides, Archimedes, and Autolycus. Launch was scheduled for September 9, but the Blok I core stage was shut down after it failed to reach full thrust at ignition. The booster was removed from the pad and replaced by
Liberty (goddess) Liberty (goddess) Liberty is a loose term in English for the goddess or personification of the concept of liberty, and is represented by the Roman Goddess Libertas, by Marianne, the national symbol of France, and by many others. The Statue of Liberty ("Liberty Enlightening the World") by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi is a well-known example in art, a gift from France to the United States. The ancient Roman goddess Libertas was honored during the second Punic War by a temple erected on the Aventine Hill in Rome by the father of Tiberius Gracchus. A statue in her honor also was raised