1959: Luna 2 becomes the first artifact of humanity to strike the moon.

The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik-like probe from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sept. 12. It took 33.5 hours to reach its destination. Hitting the moon, as prestigious an accomplishment as it was for the young Soviet space program, was not Luna 2’s only objective. Prior to impact, the craft also sent back data confirming, among other things, that the moon had neither a magnetic field nor any radiation belts.

Because Luna 2 itself lacked a propulsion system, it was guided along by the third stage of its SS-6 booster rocket...

Ford is pushing forward in the evolution of the connected car with the unveiling of OpenXC, a research platform which aims to turn your car into a plug-and-play device.

Ford is gung-ho for connectivity and seems determined to pack as much technology into its cars as possible. It believes connectivity and in-car tech like Sync can make us better, safer drivers while increasing the practicality and usefulness of our time behind the wheel.

Open XC, announced Monday at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, rests on collaboration with open-source hardware makers Bug Labs. Using a...