What Happened on January 2?

January 2 is National Science Fiction Day — Isaac Asimov's birthday! It is also the day the Soviet Union launched Luna 1, the first spacecraft to fly past the Moon.

• 1492 — Granada surrenders — the Reconquista ends

  Boabdil, the last Muslim king of Granada, handed the city's keys to Ferdinand and Isabella, ending nearly 800 years of Muslim rule in Spain — the same year Columbus sailed west. Read the full story →

• 1839 — First photograph of the Moon (probably)

  Photography pioneer Louis Daguerre pointed his camera at the night sky and captured the first-known photo of the Moon — an image later destroyed when his studio burned down. Read the full story →

• 1959 — Luna 1 launches — first spacecraft to fly past the Moon

  The Soviet Union launched Luna 1 on January 2, 1959. It missed the Moon on purpose-turned-accident but became the first craft ever to reach the Moon's vicinity — so fast it escaped Earth's gravity forever. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) · Ernst Barlach (1870–1938)

Days & observances

National Science Fiction Day