An oblique view of the lunar surface and the lunar horizon transmitted by the first robotic probe to soft land on the Moon, Soviet Luna 9Luna 9, 2 February 1966Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper, 20.5 x 25.7 cm (8 x 10 in), an AP Wirephoto print with the APW press caption across the front and another one attached to the verso (dated 4 February 1966)Footnotes:Luna 9 was the first robotic spacecraft to successfully soft land on the Moon in 1966. It preceded the Surveyor 1 by around 4 months.After touchdown a television camera erected from the probe and the system began a photographic survey of the lunar environment. Seven radio sessions with a total of 8 hours and 5 minutes were transmitted, as well as three series of TV pictures. After assembly the photographs gave a panoramic view of the immediate lunar surface.Although the pictures of the Moon were initially not released by Soviet authorities, their signal format was found to be similar to the Radiofax signal universally ed by newspapers to transmit pictures. Th, Jodrell Bank Observatory near Manchester was able to instantly intercept, decode and publish Luna 9's first photographs from the Moon's surface