Here are processed images from the Luna 3 mission. These are the first images from the Moon's far side and are of extreme historical importance.
They might look crude, but we must remember that they are from 1959!
The original images (and extensive information) can be found here: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/mission_page/EM_Luna_3_page1.html, www.mentallandscape.com/C_CatalogMoon.htm and www.svengrahn.pp.se/trackind/luna3/Luna3story.html.
These images suffer from severe degradation because of the analog transmission system used. On Earth, images were displayed on a Slow Scan TV monitor that was photographed, further degrading the images.
Processing consisted of removal of vertical and horizontal image stripes and noise reduction.
Yenisey-2 camera system |
Film: 35mm isochrome |
Transmission: FM analog |
CRT: Slow Scan Display? |
General operation |
Scanning: 1000 lines |
Frames: 40 possible frames, 29 obtained, 12 to 17 transmited |
Image Reading time: ~800 sec / image |
Objective lens: 200 mm, f/5.6 and 500 mm, f/9.5 |