March 1, 1966: Probe Makes First Contact With Another Planet

1966: The Soviet probe Venera 3 successfully lands on the surface of Venus. It’s the first time anything man-made makes contact with an extraterrestrial surface beyond the Moon. The Soviet Union originally designed the vehicle to explore Mars, but repurposed three of them as Venera probes to visit Venus. In February 1966, Venera 2 managed [...]

URL: http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2013/03/march-1-1966-probe-makes-first-contact-with-another-planet/