Zond-3 — launch
Date in UTC
Zond 3 was a 1965 space probe which performed a flyby of the Moon's far side, taking 28 quality photographs. 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 crewed 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. The spacecraft was of the 3MV-4 type, similar to Zond 2.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zond_3. Related NASA reference: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chronology.html#1965. Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).
- Category
- Launches and Flight Tests
- Type
- Orbital launch
- Subjects
- Space transportation
- Mission
- Zond-3
- Organization
- Strategic Rocket Forces
- Vehicle
- Molniya 8K78
- Location
- NIIP-5, Baykonur, Kazakstan
- Country
- SU
- Human involvement
- Uncrewed
- Outcome
- Successful
Sources and attribution
- Jonathan McDowell — General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (opens in a new tab) — Data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), CC BY 4.0. Adapted into anniversary records. (CC BY 4.0)
- Wikipedia — Zond 3 (opens in a new tab) — Adapted from Wikipedia contributors; selected sentences retained and edited for length, reference markers and pronunciation glosses. CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Article and edit history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zond_3 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Timeline of Space Exploration Missions 1957 to 2031 (opens in a new tab)
- NASA — Zond 3 (opens in a new tab)
- NASA NSSDCA — Zond 3 (opens in a new tab)