Luna 3

Luna 3
A 1:1 scale model at the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow
Mission typeLunar flyby[1]
OperatorSoviet space program
Harvard designation1959 Theta 1[2]
COSPAR ID1959-008A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.21
Mission duration18 days (launch day to last contact day)
Orbits completed14
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftYe-2A No.1[1]
ManufacturerOKB-1
Launch mass278.5 kilograms (614 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date4 October 1959, 00:43:40 (1959-10-04UTC00:43:40Z) UTC[1]
RocketLuna 8K72 (No I1-8)[1]
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5[1]
End of mission
Last contact22 October 1959 (1959-10-23)[3]
Decay date29 April 1960
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeHighly elliptical
(circumlunar)
Semi-major axis256,620.50 kilometres (159,456.59 mi)
Eccentricity0.97322501
Perigee altitude500 kilometres (310 mi)
Apogee altitude499,999 kilometres (310,685 mi)
Inclination55 degrees
Period359.38 hours
Epoch5 October 1959[4]
Flyby of the Moon
Closest approach6 October 1959, 14:16 UTC
Distance6,200 kilometres (3,900 mi)

Luna 3, or E-2A No.1 (Russian: Луна 3), was a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1959 as part of the Luna programme. It was the first mission to photograph the far side of the Moon and the third Soviet space probe to be sent to the neighborhood of the Moon.[5] The historic, never-before-seen views of the far side of the Moon caused excitement and interest when they were published around the world, and a tentative Atlas of the Far Side of the Moon was created from the pictures.

These views showed mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two dark, low-lying regions, which were named Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire). Mare Desiderii was later found to be composed of a smaller mare, Mare Ingenii (Sea of Cleverness), and several other dark craters. The reason for this difference between the two sides of the Moon is still not fully understood, but it seems that most of the dark lavas that flowed out to produce the maria formed under the Earth-facing half.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Siddiqi 2018, p. 13.
  2. ^ "Luna Ye-2A". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Luna 3". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  4. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  5. ^ Harvey 2011, p. 158.
  6. ^ "Exploring the Moon – The first robot explorers". Ianridpath.com. Retrieved 6 November 2013.