The Far Side of the Moon

On this day, the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 took the first photographs ever of the far side of the moon. Since the moon rotates on its own axis at the same rate as it orbits the Earth, the so-called “far side of the moon” is never visible to the naked eye and consequently it was the first opportunity that scientists had to examine it in some detail. The camera took 29 pictures over 40 minutes, covering 70% of the lunar far side. Seventeen (some say twelve) of these frames were successfully transmitted back to the Earth and six were published. 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). The images caused great excitement and interest when they were published around the world, and were used to create a tentative Atlas of the Far Side of the Moon.

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