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Ranger 7 Snaps the Moon

A black and white image of the Moon's surface. Many craters of different sizes can be seen. There is a grid of marks overlaid on the photo.
NASA/JPL

On July 31, 1964, the Ranger 7 spacecraft took this photo, the first image of the Moon taken by a United States spacecraft. 17 minutes later, it crashed into the Moon on the northern rim of the Sea of Clouds as intended. The 4,316 images sent back helped identify safe Moon landing sites for Apollo astronauts.

Until 1964, no closeup photographs of the lunar surface existed. Ranger 7 returned the first high resolution close-up photographs of the lunar surface. The mission marked a turning point in America’s lunar exploration program, taking the country one step closer to a human Moon landing.

Learn more about Ranger 7.

Image credit: NASA/JPL