LUNA 4

Luna 4, or E-6 No.4, sometimes known in the West as Lunik 4, was a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1963 as part of the Luna program to attempt the first soft landing on the Moon. Following a successful launch, the spacecraft failed to perform a course correction and as a result it missed the Moon, remaining instead in Earth orbit before possibly transitioning into a solar orbit. Though the mission was unsuccessful, it nevertheless marked a new epoch in the Space Race, which culminated in the successful landing of Luna 9 in 1966.