Zond 3

Zond 3
Mission typeLunar science
OperatorOKB-1
COSPAR ID1965-056A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.01454
Mission duration228 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type3MV-4
ManufacturerOKB-1
Launch mass950 kg (2,090 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch dateJuly 18, 1965, 14:32 (1965-07-18UTC14:32) UTC[1]
RocketMolniya SL-6/A-2-e
Launch siteBaikonur LC-1/5
End of mission
Last contactMarch 3, 1966 (1966-03-04)[2]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemHeliocentric
Eccentricity0.2683
Perihelion altitude0.9 AU (130 million km)
Aphelion altitude1.56 AU (233 million km)
Inclination0.5°
Period500 days
EpochJuly 19, 1965, 20:00 UTC[3]
Flyby of Moon
Closest approachJuly 20, 1965
Distance9,219 km (5,728 mi)
← Zond 2
None →

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.

  1. ^ a b Siddiqi, Asif (2018). Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 (PDF) (second ed.). NASA History Program Office.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference thespacereview.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Zond 3 – Trajectory Details". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NASA. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  4. ^ Harvey, Brian (August 17, 2007). Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration. Springer Science+Business Media. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-387-73976-2.