When was the first spacecraft to land softly on the Moon?

The Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft made the first successful soft landing on the Moon on 3 February 1966. Unlike an impact crash, a soft landing means the spacecraft touched down intact and gently enough to function afterward. Luna 9 then sent back the first close-up pictures from the lunar surface. The mission proved that a spacecraft could survive landing on another world, paving the way for later robotic and crewed lunar missions.