Editing Luna 2 (section)

== Payload ==
[[File:Block-E rocket stage.png|thumb|upright|Upper stage of [[Luna (rocket)|Luna rocket]]]]

''Luna 2'' carried five different types of instruments to conduct various tests while it was on its way to the [[Moon]].{{Sfn|Siddiqi|2002|p=23}} The scintillation counters were used to measure any ionizing radiation and the Cherenkov radiation detectors to measure electromagnetic radiation caused by charged particles.{{sfn|Huntress|Marov|2011|p=73}} The primary scientific purpose of the Geiger Counter carried on ''Luna 2'' was to determine the electron spectrum of the [[Van Allen radiation belt]]. It consisted of three STS-5 gas-discharge counters mounted on the outside of an airtight container.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experiment/display.action?id=1959-014A-02|title=Geiger Counter|publisher=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|access-date=12 March 2019}}</ref> The last instrument on ''Luna 2'' was a three component fluxgate magnetometer. It was similar to that used on ''Luna 1'' but its dynamic range was reduced by a factor of 4 to ±750 [[Tesla (unit)#Conversion to non-SI units|gamma]]s (nT) so that the quantisation uncertainty was ±12 gammas.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experiment/display.action?id=1959-014A-01|title=Triaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer|publisher=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|access-date=12 March 2019}}</ref> The probe's instrumentation was powered by silver-zinc and mercury-oxide batteries.{{sfn|Huntress|Marov|2011|p=73}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mentallandscape.com/L_Luna2.htm|title=Lunar Impact capsule|last1=Mitchell|first1=Don P.|publisher=Mental Landscape LLC|access-date=20 March 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Kansas Cosmosphere Luna 2 Pennant 2013.JPG|thumb|A copy of the Soviet pennant sent on the ''Luna 2'' probe to the Moon, at the Kansas [[Cosmosphere]].]]

The spacecraft also carried Soviet [[Pennant (commissioning)|pennants]] which were located on the probe and on the ''Luna 2'' rocket.{{sfn|Capelotti|2014|p=44}} The two sphere-shaped pennants in the probe had surfaces covered by 72 [[pentagon]]al elements in a pattern similar to that later used by [[Ball (association football)|association footballs]].{{sfn|Cavallaro|2018|p=48}}{{sfn|Waldstein|Turoma|2016|p=262}} In the centre was an explosive charge designed to shatter the sphere, sending the pentagonal shields in all directions.{{sfn|Waldstein|Turoma|2016|p=262}} Each pentagonal element was made of [[titanium alloy]]; the centre [[Regular polygon|regular]] pentagon had the [[State Emblem of the Soviet Union]] with the [[Cyrillic]] letters ''СССР'' ("USSR") engraved below and was surrounded by five non-regular pentagons which were each engraved with ''СССР СЕНТЯБРЬ 1959'' ("USSR SEPTEMBER 1959").{{sfn|Cavallaro|2018|p=48}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ria.ru/20090914/184898023.html|title=СССР полвека назад впервые в истории осуществил успешный полет на Луну|last1=Kovalev|first1=Alexander|date=14 September 2009|work=RIA Novosti|language=ru|trans-title=Half a century ago, for the first time in history, the USSR carried out a successful flight to the moon|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref> The third pennant was similar engravings on aluminium strips which were embossed on the last stage of the ''Luna 2'' rocket.{{sfn|Capelotti|2014|p=44}}

The scientists took extra, unspecified precautions in preventing biological contamination of the Moon.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0914.html#article|title=Soviet Rocket Hits Moon After 35 Hours; Arrival Is Calculated Within 84 Seconds; Signals Received Till Moment of Impact|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 September 1959|last1=Frankel|first1=Max|author-link=Max Frankel|page=1}}</ref>