In preparation for the Int’l Geophysical Year, Mikhail Tikhonravov, in consultation with Valentin Glushko and mathematician Mstislav Keldysh, and at the urging of Sergei Korolev, wrote Report on Artificial Satellite of the Earth. Chapter III describes a lunar mission. The race to the Moon will be remembered for the winners, not the losers, but the Soviets would be the first to: send a probe beyond the Moon (1st Cosmic Ship), impact the Moon (2nd Cosmic Ship), see the far side (Automatic Interplanetary Station), make the first soft landing (Luna 9), and see the first lunar rovers (Lunokhod 1 and 2). The USSR certainly had the technology to reach the Moon, and even planned permanent lunar bases.
