Going to the moon

September 12, 1959 - Luna 2 is launched, impacting on the moon on September 13 carrying a copy of the Soviet coat of arms, and becoming the first man-made object to hit the moon.
December 4, 1965 - Gemini 7 is launched carrying Frank Borman and James A. Lovell, Jr., making 206 orbits around Earth and proving a trip to the Moon possible.
February 3, 1966 - Soviet Luna 9 is the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon.
June 2, 1966 - Surveyor 1 is the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon.
July 20, 1969 - Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. make the first manned soft landing on the Moon, and the first moonwalk, using Apollo 11.