Mission type | Lunar science | ||||||||||||||
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Operator | OKB-1 | ||||||||||||||
COSPAR ID | 1965-056A | ||||||||||||||
SATCAT no. | 01454 | ||||||||||||||
Mission duration | 228 days | ||||||||||||||
Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||||
Spacecraft type | 3MV-4 | ||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | OKB-1 | ||||||||||||||
Launch mass | 950 kg (2,090 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Start of mission | |||||||||||||||
Launch date | July 18, 1965, 14:32[1] | UTC||||||||||||||
Rocket | Molniya SL-6/A-2-e | ||||||||||||||
Launch site | Baikonur LC-1/5 | ||||||||||||||
End of mission | |||||||||||||||
Last contact | March 3, 1966[2] | ||||||||||||||
Orbital parameters | |||||||||||||||
Reference system | Heliocentric | ||||||||||||||
Eccentricity | 0.2683 | ||||||||||||||
Perihelion altitude | 0.9 AU (130 million km) | ||||||||||||||
Aphelion altitude | 1.56 AU (233 million km) | ||||||||||||||
Inclination | 0.5° | ||||||||||||||
Period | 500 days | ||||||||||||||
Epoch | July 19, 1965, 20:00 UTC[3] | ||||||||||||||
Flyby of Moon | |||||||||||||||
Closest approach | July 20, 1965 | ||||||||||||||
Distance | 9,219 km (5,728 mi) | ||||||||||||||
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Zond 3 was a 1965 space probe which performed a flyby of the Moon's far side,[4] taking 28 quality photographs. It was a member of the Soviet Zond program while also being part of the Mars 3MV project. It was unrelated to Zond spacecraft designed for crewed circumlunar missions (Soyuz 7K-L1). It is believed that Zond 3 was initially designed as a companion spacecraft to Zond 2 to be launched to Mars during the 1964 launch window. The opportunity to launch was missed, and the spacecraft was launched on a Mars-crossing trajectory as a spacecraft test, even though Mars was no longer attainable.
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