Luna 3 (E-3 series) was the third spacecraft sent successfully to the moon and was an early triumph in the human exploration of outer space. Though it returned rather poor pictures by later standards, the historic, never-before-seen views of the Moon's far side caused excitement and interest when they were published around the world, and a tentative Atlas of the Far Side of the Moon was created after image processing improved the pictures.
These views showed mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two dark, low-lying regions which were named Mare Moscovrae (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Dreams). Mare Desiderii was later found to be composed of a smaller mare, Mare Ingenii (Sea of Ingenuity), and other dark craters.
It was also the first 3-axis stabilized spacecraft, meaning that it could control its orientation (or "attitude"). Using the Sun and Moon as reference points, the spacecraft rotated until the camera pointed toward the moon, and then stopped moving. Spacecraft until then were spin-stabilized.
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Author(s): Iloeta Baxter (2007 April 26)
