Luna-9 (automatic station)

Before Luna-9 a basic question remained open: would the lunar soil bear the weight of a lander or prove to be a layer of dust. The hundred-kilogram lander was enclosed in inflatable airbags jettisoned after impact, after which four petals opened and levelled the station. The transmitted panorama showed a firm surface strewn with stones and settled the "ocean of dust" argument. The images were intercepted by Jodrell Bank Observatory and published in the British press before the Soviet one. On display is a lander twin with petals and antennas deployed.