In earlier days, most often, when a probe hit the surface of the Moon, it was either damaged or destroyed completely. When the probe lands smoothly on the surface without damaging the vehicle or anything on board, it is said to have a soft landing.
After a dozen failed attempts, Luna 9 made the first successful soft landing on the Moon. Luna 9 landed in Oceanus Procellarum, showing a rough surface free of deep dust. It also sent back the first close-up images of the Moon. This unmanned space mission was carried out by the Soviet Union in 1966.
It was developed and designed under the guidance of Sergei Korolev. The spacecraft weighed 99 kilograms and it used a landing bag to reduce the impact of landing. But, it bounced several times before coming to rest.
Picture Credit : Google
