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Description

Luna 3, the third Soviet moon probe and the first spacecraft to take pictures of the far side of the moon.

The probe was massively successful, taking excellent images of the far side and transmitting them to tracking stations. It was also spin-stabilized on 3 axes. Luna 3 was able to automatically detect when the camera was pointed at the moon and start taking pictures, a cool bit of 1950s tech.

Interestingly, the film used for the moon pictures was American. The Soviets had recovered it from a US high-altitude recon balloon that crashed in their territory.

Description

Luna 3, the third Soviet moon probe and the first spacecraft to take pictures of the far side of the moon.

The probe was massively successful, taking excellent images of the far side and transmitting them to tracking stations. It was also spin-stabilized on 3 axes. Luna 3 was able to automatically detect when the camera was pointed at the moon and start taking pictures, a cool bit of 1950s tech.

Interestingly, the film used for the moon pictures was American. The Soviets had recovered it from a US high-altitude recon balloon that crashed in their territory.