Oct. 7 () –
This October 7 marks the 63rd anniversary of the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3third launched to the Moon, will send to Earth, in 1959, the first images of the hidden side of our natural satellite.
Although they were poor quality images (especially when compared to later ones), the historic and never-before-seen images of the far side of the Moon caused excitement and interest when they were released around the world, creating a provisional Atlas of the far side of the Moon after enhancing the images thanks to processing, with the result shown below, reports Wikipedia.
These views are mountainous terrain, very different from the visible face, and two dark regions that were named Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire). It was later considered that Mare Desiderii is made up of a small sea, Mare Ingenii (Sea of Ingenuity), and several dark craters.
The camera, a double-lens AFA-E1, used 35mm Isochrome film resistant to radiation and extreme temperatures, capable of taking 40 images. A 200mm objective was intended to image the entire disk of the Moon while another 500mm could image a region on the surface. The camera was fixed on the ship and its aiming was achieved by the rotation of the ship itself.
The camera took 29 photos over 40 minutes, on October 7, 1959, from 0330 to 0410 UTC, at distances between 63,500 kilometers and 66,700 kilometers above the surface, covering 70% of the hidden lunar face.
Seventeen (also said to be twelve) of these images were successfully transmitted to Earth, and six (images numbered 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, and 35) were published. They were the first views that humanity contemplated of the hidden hemisphere of the Moon.
