Moon landing the only country to have successfully conducted manned missions to the Moon, with the last departing the lunar surface in December 1972. After the unsuccessful attempt by the Luna 1 to land on the Moon in 1959, the Soviet Union performed the first hard (unpowered) Moon landing later that same year with the Luna 2 spacecraft, a feat the U.S. duplicated in 1962 with Ranger 4. Since then, twelve Soviet and U.S. spacecraft have used braking rockets to make soft landings and perform scientific operations on the lunar surface, between 1966 and 1976. In 1966 the USSR accomplished the first
Marcella Craft Marcella Craft Marcella Craft (August 11, 1874 – December 12, 1959) was an American operatic soprano who performed internationally in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Born Marcia Craft in Indianapolis, Indiana, she moved with her family to Riverside, California in 1887. Craft graduated from Riverside High School in 1893. During the graduation ceremony, at Riverside's Loring Opera House, she performed her first public solo. Encouraged by the community, and with contributions from local businessmen, Craft studied opera in Boston, Massachusetts under maestro Charles R. Adams. Upon completion of her studies, she traveled to Italy for additional tutoring.