Luna 9 landing capsule on the Moon, composite image. The Luna 9 spacecraft made the first ever soft landing on the Moon on 3rd February 1966. It sent back numerous photographs of the lunar surface and allowed measurements to be made of several properties of the surface, such as crater structure and surface cohesiveness. The landing capsule (seen here) was ejected when the front of the spacecraft touched the lunar surface. It landed and rolled upright before unfolding supports. Luna 9 was the third Soviet attempt to make a soft landing on the Moon.