Luna 3

Luna 3 was launched on the second anniversary of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1959. Using an onboard Yenisey-2 photographic system, it photographed the unseen far side of the Moon on October 7, 1959, developed the 35mm film automatically inside the probe, and transmitted 29 images back to Earth via television facsimile. The images revealed a rugged, mountainous hemisphere with few maria, fundamentally reshaping lunar science.

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Agency / Country

Soviet Space Program (USSR) (Soviet Union)

Mission Status

FLYBY

Launch / Target Year

1959

Spacecraft / Type

Luna E-2A No.1

Landing Site Zone

—

Surface Coordinates

N/A

Mission Imagery & Gallery

Luna 3 photograph 1: Soviet Academy of Sciences — Historic first photograph of the far side of the Moon, Luna 3, Oct 1959 (Public Domain) — Soviet Academy of Sciences — Historic first photograph of the far side of the Moon, Luna 3, Oct 1959 (Public Domain)

Primary Achievement

Returned the historic first photographs of the far side of the Moon.

Mission Objectives

Fly past the lunar far side and orient camera toward sunlit hemisphere
Expose, develop, and scan photographic film automatically in space
Transmit processed far-side imagery back to Soviet tracking stations via radio facsimile

Timeline Events

1959-10-04 — Launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome into highly elliptical Earth orbit.
1959-10-07 — Photographed far side of Moon from 63,500 km altitude, capturing 70% of the hidden hemisphere.
1959-10-18 — Transmitted clear facsimile images to Soviet radio telescopes as spacecraft returned toward Earth perigee.

Related Missions

Luna 1 (Mechta) (1959) · Soviet Space Program
Luna 2 (1959) · Soviet Space Program
Chang'e 4 (2019) · China

Historical & Technical Sources

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