Luna 2 2" itself. Once "Luna 2" was split from its upper stage it started transmitting information back to Earth using three different transmitters. These transmitters provided precise information on its course, allowing scientists to calculate that "Luna 2" would hit its mark on the Moon around 00:05 on September 14 (Moscow Time). In order to be able to provide a visual from Earth on September 13, the spacecraft released a vapor cloud that would expand to diameter that would be seen by observatories in Alma Ata, Byurakan, Abastumani, Tbilisi, and Stalinabad. This vapor cloud also acted as an experiment to see
Luna 3 Luna 3 Luna 3, or E-2A No.1 was a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1959 as part of the Luna programme. It was the first-ever mission to photograph the far side of the Moon and the third Soviet space probe to be sent to the neighborhood of the Moon. Though it returned rather poor pictures by later standards, the historic, never-before-seen views of the far side of the Moon 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