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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

First View of the Lunar Far Side

First View of the Lunar Far Side
First View of the Lunar Far Side In 1959 the Soviet probe Luna 3 captured this image--the first view ever showing the far side of the moon. Tsiolkovsky Crater is visible as the dark, heart-shaped feature near the lower-right edge. Leningrad Scientific Research Institute of Television / Sternberg Astronomical Institute / curated online by Don P. Mitchell