Luna 2 became the first human-made object to reach the Moon’s surface in 1959.
The Soviet spacecraft was launched on 12 September 1959 and deliberately impacted the Moon on 14 September. It was an impact mission rather than a soft landing, so it transmitted data during its journey but did not survive contact with the lunar surface.
Luna 2 helped confirm that the Moon had no significant global magnetic field and detected evidence of the solar wind. Its success followed Luna 1, which became the first spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravity and enter a heliocentric orbit after missing the Moon.
A common mix-up is calling Luna 2 the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon. That achievement belonged to Luna 10 in 1966. Luna 9 later achieved the first successful soft landing on the Moon in 1966.