5. The first artificial satellite to orbit another celestial body, Luna 10 began its orbit of the Moon on April 3, 1966
Launched towards the Moon on March 31, 1966, from an Earth-orbiting platform, Luna 10, after two emergency course corrections by Soviet mission control, successfully entered into lunar orbit on April 3. Completing its first orbit three hours later, Luna 10 began conducting important scientific studies on the environment of our celestial companion. Examining levels of gravity, radiation conditions, as well as performing geological surveys of the Moon’s composition, the satellite transmitted a total of 219 signals throughout the course of its mission. Eventually, after 460 orbits, the battery depleted and radio contact was lost on May 30.
Continuing to remain as the first artificial satellite of the Moon, Luna 10 serves as an exemplar of the propaganda purpose of early space programs during the Cold War. Fitted with a set of specially designed oscillators, after having entered into lunar orbit the spacecraft was programmed to reproduce the tune of “The Internationale”: the anthem of the socialist movement. Planned to be broadcast live before the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in a display of the technological brilliance of communism, a rehearsal tape from the night before was actually secretly transmitted due to a malfunction on the night of April 3.