Ranger 4, launched April 23, 1962, was the first U.S. spacecraft to crash onto another celetial body. Shortly after take-off, tracking stations picked up Ranger 4's radio transmitter but no telemetry data was being returned and the spacecrafts computers did not respond to commands.
The launch and separation had performed so perfectly, Ranger 4 would not need a midcourse correction burn to impact the moon, but despite numerous commands, the probe did not unfurl the solar panels and would not stop rolling.
Without solar power, Ranger 4's batteries ran out of power April 26 and the probe impacted the far side of the moon.
Although it was the first U.S. spacecraft to impact the moon, it was considered a failure.
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