January 2 in History
1959 – Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union
Launched on this day at part of the Soviet Luna program, Luna 1, also known as Mechta (E-1 No.4 and First Lunar Rover, became the first human-made object to reach heliocentric orbit and was dubbed ‘Artificial Planet 1’ and renamed Mechta (Dream). It was also referred to as the ‘First Cosmic Ship’, in reference to its achievement of Earth escape velocity.
Photo Caption – Interplanetary station Luna 1 exhibited in the ‘Kosmos’ pavilion of the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy of the USSR –Wikipedia