59 years ago today, on June 6, 1966 (April 18, 1966, the lunar calendar), an unmanned spacecraft took photos of the lunar surface. The satellite's protective capsule failed to dock with Gemini 9. On June 6, 1966, the U.S. space program suffered a small failure, but at the same time achieved a great success. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Thomas Stafford failed to dock the Gemini 9 spacecraft with the satellite, but Cernan actually floated in space for two hours, and they splashed down safely at sea today. At the same time, Probe 1 landed safely on the moon on the 2nd and sent back photos, showing that the moon's surface was covered with gravel but very flat. The landing was an important step in the U.S. plan to land humans on the moon before 1970. Hours after the probe landed on the moon, 144 photos sent back to Earth showed that the lunar surface was flat and strong enough to support a manned landing spacecraft. The success of Probe 1 is a bonus for the scientists who designed and built the spacecraft. They once said that it would take three or four flights to achieve the results achieved today. "In my opinion, this puts the rover program at least a year ahead of completion," said Robert F. Gabalin of NASA. Using radar, an electronic computer and four rocket engines, the probe lowered gently on its three legs. It draws electricity from large panels of solar cells and is expected to send back hundreds of photos every day.