Space Heritage – First U.S Satellite Lands on the Far Side of the Moon Published May 7, 2026 By John M. Lacomia, FAM/Historian, USSF CFC History Office PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Sixty-four years ago on April 23, 1962, the United States successfully launched the Ranger 4 satellite onboard an Atlas-Agena B rocket from Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex, Florida, enroute to the moon. The mission of the Ranger spacecraft was to obtain high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface and provide information for landing site selection for Surveyor and Apollo missions. Nine Ranger missions were launched from 1961 through 1965. The first Ranger program test mission took place on August 13, 1961. After two test missions, Ranger’s 3-5 missions advanced to achieve rough lunar landings, obtain scientific data, and test camera operations. A booster guidance system malfunction resulted in Ranger 3 missing the moon by approximately 38,000 kilometers. Ranger 4 had a perfect launch and headed to the Moon without incident. Three days after launch, April 26th, Ranger 4 became the first U.S. spacecraft to reach the moon, impacting as planned on the far side of its surface. An onboard computer system failure prevented the solar panels and high-gain antenna from being deployed while in lunar orbit and sending back data and photographs. Though Ranger 4 was successful in reaching the moon, it was not until July 31, 1964, that the Ranger 7 spacecraft orbited the moon and successfully transmitted 4,316 pictures of the lunar surface before impact. The lessons learned from the nine Ranger missions helped the U.S. become the first nation to successfully land a man on the Moon in July 1969. Six successful Moon missions followed over the next three years. The U.S. won the Space Race and is the only nation on Earth to place a man on the Moon. Five decades have passed since anyone last stepped on the lunar surface, but a lot has changed since then. Advanced technologies and international cooperation between governments and private companies have led to programs like Artemis that intend to return mankind to the Moon and pave the way for missions to Mars.