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
The Rising of the Moon (album) on this CD. The original 1956 version of the album has never been reissued. The first track, "O Donnell Aboo" (an apostrophe was not initially included in the title name) with harmonica accompaniment, is the only song to have been re-released from this version. It is now more commonly reproduced on compilation albums and reissues than the 1959 version with Irish harp and snare drum. It appears on the 2006 album, "28 Irish Pub Songs". Besides the initial track, all the rest of the songs on the album from "The Rising of the Moon" are taken from the 1959 version.