Luna 3 was a Soviet unmanned lunar flyby mission launched from Baikonur on October 4, 1959. It was the first spacecraft to photograph the far side of the Moon, a region that had never previously been seen by humans.
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| Photo: The Luna 3 spacecraft. |
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| The first philatelic exhibition cover (version 1) dedicated to space, the Arctic and the Antarctic, featuring a cachet commemorating the "Second Anniversary of the Dawn of the Space Age", postmarked in Moscow with the G-242 philatelic exhibition hand cancel on October 4, 1959, which is the opening day of the exhibition that coincided with the launch of Luna 3. |
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| The first philatelic exhibition cover (version 2) dedicated to space, the Arctic and the Antarctic, featuring a cachet commemorating the "Second Anniversary of the Dawn of the Space Age", postmarked in Moscow with the G-242 philatelic exhibition hand cancel on October 4, 1959. |
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| A cover commemorating the launch of Luna 3, postmarked in Moscow with a hand cancel on October 4, 1959. Also postmarked in Moscow with the G-242 philatelic exhibition hand cancel on October 4, 1959. |
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| Photo: An image of the dark side of the moon taken by Luna 3. |
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| A Luna 3 First Day Cover postmarked in Moscow with a hand cancel on October 12, 1959. |
On October 6, Luna 3 passed about 7,900 km over the Moon’s south polar region and continued behind the Moon. The following day, it photographed the sunlit far side from distances of approximately 63,500 to 66,700 km, taking 29 images over 40 minutes and covering about 70% of the far side. After the photography sequence, Luna 3 resumed its spin and headed back toward Earth. The photographs were developed and processed aboard the spacecraft, and as Luna 3 approached Earth, 17 images were successfully transmitted on October 18, 1959, providing the first views of the Moon’s far side.
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| A Luna 3 return-to-Earth cover, commemorating the transmission of the first photographs of the Moon’s far side, postmarked in Moscow with a hand cancel on October 18, 1959. |
