LUNA MOON PROBES

Image 1: Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the Moon, and the first of a series of Soviet automatic interplanetary stations successfully launched in the direction of the Moon. Image Credit: USSR More Information: Virtual Space Museum Image 2: The Luna 3 spacecraft returned the first views ever of the far side of the Moon. The first image was taken at 03:30 UT on 7 October at a distance of 63,500 km after Luna 3 had passed the Moon and looked back at the sunlit far side. (1959) Image Credit: NASA More Information: NASA's Solar System Exploration