Four views of the lunar surface returned to Earth by the first successful robotic landerLuna 9, 6 February 1966Four vintage gelatin silver prints, vario sizes but all approx. 18 x 23 am (7 x 9 in), with Associated Press captions affixed to versoFootnotes:Luna 9 was the first successful robotic lander which proved that the surface of the Moon was sufficiently solid to land on it. After landing in Ocean Procellarum, Luna 9 began photographing the immediate surface. Those images were not released by the Soviet authorities but were intercepted by Jodrell Bank observatory, which was tracking the spacecraft and, with the help of a Radiofax signal receiver supplied by the Daily Express, decoded and published worldwide.