Exploration of the Moon and indeed of human history in general. The first man-made object to reach the Moon was the unmanned Soviet probe Luna 2, which made a hard landing on September 14, 1959, at 21:02:24 Z. The far side of the Moon was first photographed on October 7, 1959, by the Soviet probe Luna 3. Though vague by today's standards, the photos showed that the far side of the Moon almost completely lacked maria. In an effort to compete with these Soviet successes, U.S. President John F. Kennedy proposed the national goal of landing a human on the Moon. Speaking to a
Craft of Opportunity Program could be operated from the auxiliary minesweepers. Although not directly a part of COOP, the Defence Maritime Services training ship "Seahorse Horizon" can also be fitted out as an auxiliary minesweeper. By 2012, most of the vessels have been sold or returned to their owners. "Bandicoot" and "Wallaroo" have not been operated as minesweepers since 2010, but were retained until 2014 to provide berthing support for nuclear-powered warships. The drones have been non-operational since 2007, and are due to be replaced by 2013. Craft of Opportunity Program The Craft of Opportunity Program (COOP) was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) acquisition