Luna 3
Luna 3 was the first mission to photograph the Moon’s far side. Its Ye-2A spacecraft flew a looping lunar trajectory, exposed and processed film onboard, and returned images that revealed a hemisphere with far fewer maria than the near side.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Luna-3Automatic Interplanetary StationYe-2A No. 1 mission
- Name
- Luna 3
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Luna 3 was the first mission to photograph the Moon’s far side. Its Ye-2A spacecraft flew a looping lunar trajectory, exposed and processed film onboard, and returned images that revealed a hemisphere with far fewer maria than the near side.
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Successful lunar flyby and first photographs of the Moon’s far side.
- Start Date
- 1959-10-04
- Vehicle Families
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 29, 2026 at 12:43:32 UTC
- Updated Time
- July 29, 2026 at 12:43:32 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Programs
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles