Luna 3 Automatic Interplanetary Station lunar-flyby spacecraft family
Luna 3 was the Soviet Union’s 1959 lunar-flyby spacecraft and the first mission to photograph the Moon’s far side. It returned 29 photographs covering about 70 percent of the previously unseen hemisphere.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Luna 3Lunik 3Automatic Interplanetary Station Luna 3E-2A No. 1
- Family Name
- Luna 3
- Full Name
- Luna 3 Automatic Interplanetary Station lunar-flyby spacecraft family
- Roles
- interplanetary_probeflybyresearch
- Status
- retired
- Type
- spacecraft
Details
- Description
- Luna 3 was the Soviet Union’s 1959 lunar-flyby spacecraft and the first mission to photograph the Moon’s far side. It returned 29 photographs covering about 70 percent of the previously unseen hemisphere.
- First Flight Year
- 1,959
- Last Flight Year
- 1,959
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Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 13, 2026 at 07:53:01 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 13, 2026 at 07:53:01 UTC