Luna 3 spacecraft

Returned the first images of the lunar farside.

Era

A (1959-1976)

Parent mission

Luna 3

Role

flyby imaging spacecraft

Operator

Soviet space program

Nation

USSR

Launched (UTC)

1959-10-04

Reached Moon (UTC)

1959-10-06/1959-10-07

Event type

flyby

Outcome

success

Site

Flyby/farside imaging trajectory

Left on surface

none

Returned material

none

Current status

departed/decayed; final fate not fully documented here

Operational status (derived)

inactive

Source grade

primary

Review note

review:medium

Primary source