5 pioneering firsts from the space race

The USSR's Luna 1 was the first probe to reach escape velocity on January 2, 1959.

The USSR's Luna 2 was the first human-made object to impact another celestial body in 1959.

The first successful planetary mission was the USA's Mariner II to Venus on December 14, 1962.

The USSR's Luna 9 made the first survivable landing on a celestial body on February 3, 1966.

The USSR's Venera 7 was the first to transmit from the surface of another planet in 1970.