Zond 3: First to See Moon's Far Side on the Way to Mars
Discovery News | Amy Shira Teitel | 2013 Jul 18
It’s not one of the historic space missions we celebrate year after year, but on July 20, 1965, Zond 3 took some of the first high-quality images of the far side of the moon as it flew by on its way to Mars.
The moon is tidally locked with the Earth, which means the same side faces us all the time. So ever since Earthly beings have looked skyward at our only natural satellite they’ve seen the same face we see nearly every day. No one knew what was on the other side.
Until 1959.