History for the day

On 31 July 1964, the American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the moon's surface:

As Ranger 7 impacts the lunar surface, it becomes the first spacecraft to send back images during this maneuver. More than 4,300 pictures are taken on the way down to its target, soon named Mare Cognitum (photo), south of the crater Copernicus. The mission is the first big success of the Ranger Project.