Editing Luna 2 (section)

== Background ==
''[[Luna 1]]'' and the three spacecraft of [[Luna programme]] before it were part of the Ye-1 series of spacecraft with a mass of {{convert|156|kg|lb}}.{{Sfn|Harvey|2007|pp=22, 30}} Luna missions that failed to successfully launch or achieve good results remained unnamed and were not publicly acknowledged.{{Sfn|Harvey|2007|p=24}}{{sfn|Lund|2018|p=333}} The first unnamed probe exploded on launch on 23 September 1958. Two more launches were unsuccessfully attempted on 11 October 1958 and 4 December 1958.{{Sfn|Harvey|2007|pp=22–24}} ''Luna 1'' was the fourth launch attempt and the first partial success of the program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/luna1.html|title=Luna-1: USSR launches the first artificial planet|last=Zak|first=Anatoly|date=2 January 2019|publisher=Russian Space Web|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref> It launched on 2 January 1959 and missed the Moon by {{convert|5965|km|mi}}.{{Sfn|Harvey|2007|pp=25, 27}}

One mission separated ''Luna 1'' and ''Luna 2'', a launch failure that occurred with an [[Luna E-1A No.1|unnamed probe]] on 18 June 1959.{{Sfn|Harvey|2007|pp=30–31}} ''Luna 2'' would be the Soviet Union's sixth attempt to impact the Moon.<ref name="moonmissions">{{cite web|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft_planetary_lunar.html|title=Moon Missions|last=Zak|first=Anatoly|date=16 October 2013 |publisher=Russian Space Web|orig-year=Updated 16 September 2018|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref> It was the second of the Ye-1a series, modified to carry a heavier payload of {{convert|156|kg|lb}}{{Sfn|Harvey|2007|p=30}} and had a combined mass of {{convert|390.2|kg|lb}}.{{sfn|Moore|Rees|2014|p=40}} ''Luna 2'' was similar in design to ''Luna 1'',<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Christy |first=Robert |title=The Mission of Luna 2 |url=http://orbitalfocus.uk/Diaries/Luna/Luna02.php |access-date=17 March 2019 |website=Zarya.info}}</ref> a spherical [[space probe]] with protruding antennas and [[instrumentation]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/far-side-moon-china/579349/|title=Why the Far Side of the Moon Matters So Much|last=Koren |first=Marina|date=3 January 2019|work=The Atlantic|access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref> The instrumentation was also similar to ''Luna 1'',<ref name=":0"/> which included a [[Spacecraft magnetometer#Fluxgate magnetometer|triaxial fluxgate magnetometer]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experiment/display.action?id=1959-014A-01|title=NSSDCA – Experiment – Details: 1959-014A-01|editor-last=Williams|editor-first=David R.|publisher=NASA Space and Science Data Coordinated Archive|access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref> a [[Piezoelectric sensor|piezoelectric detector]], a [[scintillation counter]], [[ion trap]]s and two gas-discharge counters, while the ''Luna 2'' included six gas-discharge counters.{{Sfn|Siddiqi|2002|pp=21, 23}} There were no propulsion systems on ''Luna 2'' itself.<ref name="nasa1">{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1959-014A|title=Luna 2|publisher=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|access-date=12 March 2019}}</ref>