Explanation:
This vintage 60-kopek stamp celebrates a dramatic achievement.
On the 7th of October,
1959 (7/X/1959), the Soviet interplanetary station
which has come to be
called "Luna 3" successfully photographed the
far side of the moon giving denizens
of planet Earth their
first ever view of this
hiddenhemisphere.
Lacking the digital
image
technology familiar now, Luna 3 took
the pictures on 35mm film which was automatically developed on board.
The pictures were then scanned and
the signal transmitted
to Earth days later in what was perhaps also the first interplanetary fax.
In all, seventeen
pictures were received providing enough
coverage and resolution to construct a far side map and
identify a few major features.
Depicted on
the stamp are regions dubbed the
Sea of Moscow, the Soviet Mountains,
the Bay of Astronauts, and the Sea of Dreams.
