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Mission
Kind: Lunar science
State: successful
Place: Moon
Operator: OKB-1
Instruments: 1) f/8, 106.4 mm focal length camera, 2) Ultraviolet (0.25–0.35 µm) spectrograph, 3) Ultraviolet (0.19–0.27 µm) spectrophotometer, 4) Infrared (3–4 µm) spectrophotometer, 5) Micrometeoroid detector, 6) Radiation sensors (gas-discharge and scintillation counters),
Date
Start:
Duration: 228 days
Mission Ending
Last Contact: March 3, 1966 (1966-03-04)
Rocket
Rocket: Molniya SL-6/A-2-e
Kind: OKB-1
Manufacturer: OKB-1
Mass: 960 kg (2,120 lb)
Launch Site: Baikonur LC-1/5
Flyby
1º Flyby: Moon
Orbit
Reference System: Heliocentric
Lander
"The journey, not the arrival, matters; the voyage, not the landing." - Paul Theroux
Zond 3 was a 1965 space probe which performed a flyby of the Moon's far side, taking a number of quality photographs for its time. It was a member of the Soviet Zond program while also being part of the Mars 3MV project. It was unrelated to Zond spacecraft designed for manned circumlunar missions (Soyuz 7K-L1). It is believed that Zond 3 was initially designed as a companion spacecraft to Zond 2 to be launched to Mars during the 1964 launch window. The opportunity to launch was missed, and the spacecraft was launched on a Mars-crossing trajectory as a spacecraft test, even though Mars was no longer attainable.
