1969: The Year of the First Moon Landing

Human achievements in space in the year that we first set foot on the Moon

January 5 Venera 5

A Russian space probe that returned information about the atmosphere of Venus.

January 10 Venera 6

This Russian probe returned more data about the Venusian atmosphere.

January 20 Zond 1969A

A Russian craft that was supposed to fly by the Moon, get scientific data, and then return to Earth. The mission failed when an engine shut down and the launch had to be aborted.

February 19 Lunik (Luna) 1969A

A Russian lunar rover. A rocket exploded forty seconds after the spacecraft was launched.

February 21 Zond L1S-1

This was a Russian lunar orbiter. A rocket exploded within 2 minutes after liftoff so the mission could not be completed.

February 24 Mariner 6

This American Mars flyby returned data about the Martian surface and atmosphere.

March 27 Mariner 7

Another American flyby of Mars that returned additional data about the atmosphere and surface of Mars. The Mariner 7 spacecraft was identical to the Mariner 6.

March 27 Mars 1969A

This was a Russian Mars orbiter. A rocket engine caught fire and the rocket exploded soon after launch. The mission was unsuccessful.

April 2 Mars 1969B

This Russian mission was a Mars orbiter. The rocket engines failed and the craft exploded during launch, so the mission did not succeed.

April 15 Lunik (Luna) 1969B

A Russian mission to collect lunar samples. A booster rocket failed during launch.

May 18 Apollo 10

This manned American mission was a dress rehearsal of America's Apollo 11 manned Moon landing. It simulated the Apollo 11 mission in every way, except that it did not land on the Moon. A manned lunar orbiter took close up photographs of the Moon's surface, including the planned Apollo landing sites.

June 14 Lunik (Luna) 1969C

This Russian mission was supposed to bring back lunar samples from the Moon. The launch failed and the mission was unsuccessful.

July 3 Zond L1S-2

This was a Russian lunar orbiter. The rocket engines shut down and the rocket exploded within ten seconds after liftoff.

July 13 Lunik (Luna) 15

This Russian spacecraft orbited the Moon 52 times and then crashed onto the Moon's surface on July 21, 1969.

Listen to a recording of the Lunik (Luna) 15 crash landing on the Moon.

July 16 Apollo 11

This American mission was the first manned Moon landing. Human beings walked on the Moon for the first time on July 20. They returned to Earth safely on July 24.

Watch a video of the first people to walk on the Moon.

August 7 Zond 7

This Russian lunar flyby returned photographs of the Earth and the Moon from space.

September 23 Cosmos 300

This was a Russian mission to obtain samples from the Moon. The spacecraft entered Earth orbit successfully. However, when a rocket launcher failed, it was unable to travel on to the Moon and continued to orbit the Earth.

October 22 Cosmos 305

A Russian mission to obtain lunar samples. The craft was able to achieve Earth orbit, but a rocket launcher failed, preventing it from continuing on the Moon. It therefore remained in Earth orbit.

November 14 Apollo 12

This American mission was the second manned lunar landing. Astronauts landed on the Moon on November 19. They returned to Earth on November 24.