The Soviet Union’s Venera 3 space probe was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
The probe, which was sterilized before launch, was on a mission to land on the surface of Venus. It missed Venus on its first attempt, and after its course was corrected, contact with the probe was lost. On March 1, 1966, Venera crash-landed onto Venus’ surface, making it the first spacecraft to reach another planet’s surface.