\<COLOUR 1> LAUNCH DATE: \<COLOUR 0> September 12, 1959
\<COLOUR 1> LAUNCH SITE: \<COLOUR 0> Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Central Asia
\<COLOUR 1> LAUNCH VEHICLE: \<COLOUR 0> A-1
\<COLOUR 1> WEIGHT: \<COLOUR 0> 390 kg
\<COLOUR 1> MISSION: \<COLOUR 0> Lunar landing
\<COLOUR 1> LANDED: \<COLOUR 0> September 13, 1959
\<COLOUR 1> COUNTRY: \<COLOUR 0> USSR
\<COLOUR 1> COMMENTS: \<COLOUR 0> First probe to reach Moon; crashlands on the edge of Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers) near the crater Archimedes; deposits little spheres with the Soviet emblem on the surface.