Goals: Luna 1, like three prior spacecraft in the Soviet Union's
Ye-1 series, was intended to impact the Moon. The spacecraft
carried instruments to study interplanetary matter, cosmic
radiation and the magnetic fields of the Moon and Earth.
Accomplishments:The spacecraft was the first to escape Earth's
gravity, but a guidance system malfunction caused it to miss the
Moon. The spacecraft instead flew past the Moon at a distance of
6,400 km (3,976 miles). Contact with the spacecraft was lost 62
hours after launch.