Luna 3 (Lunik 3) spacecraft orbiting the Moon, composite image. This Soviet unmanned spacecraft was launched on 4th October 1959. It was the first spacecraft to return pictures of the previously unseen far side of the Moon. It obtained 29 pictures as it passed by the Moon on 7th October 1959. Eleven days later, on 18th October 1959, as its orbit brought it back towards Earth, it successfully transmitted around 17 of its pictures. Contact with the spacecraft was lost on 22nd October 1959.