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Zond 3

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Zond 3
Mission typeLunar science
OperatorOKB-1
COSPAR ID1965-056AEdit this at Wikidata
SATCATno.01454
Mission duration228 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type3MV-4
ManufacturerOKB-1
Launch mass950 kg (2,090 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch dateJuly 18, 1965, 14:32(1965-07-18UTC14:32)UTC[1]
RocketMolniya SL-6/A-2-e
Launch siteBaikonurLC-1/5
End of mission
Last contactMarch 3, 1966(1966-03-04)[2]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemHeliocentric
Eccentricity0.2683
Perihelion altitude0.9 AU (130 million km)
Aphelion altitude1.56 AU (233 million km)
Inclination0.5°
Period500 days
EpochJuly 19, 1965, 20:00 UTC[3]
Flyby ofMoon
Closest approachJuly 20, 1965
Distance9,219 km (5,728 mi)
←Zond 2
None →

Zond 3was a 1965space probewhich performed a flyby of theMoon'sfar side,[4]taking a number of quality photographs for its time. It was a member of theSovietZond programwhile also being part of the Mars3MVproject. 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 toZond 2to 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.

Spacecraft design[edit]

The spacecraft was of the 3MV-4 type, similar toZond 2.[2]In addition to a 106.4 mm focal lengthf/8imaging system for visible light photography andultravioletspectrometryat 285-355 μm, it carried ultraviolet (190-275 μm) andinfrared(3-4 μm)spectrophotometers,radiation sensors (gas-dischargeandscintillation counters), charged particle detector,magnetometer,andmicrometeoroiddetector.[2][5]It also had an experimentalion engine.

Operational history[edit]

Zond 3 was launched fromBaikonur Cosmodromeon July 18, 1965, at 14:38 UTC, and was deployed from aTyazhely Sputnik(65-056B) Earth-orbiting platform towards theMoonand interplanetary space. This was a repeat of a mission that failed in late 1963 intended to test communication at distances equivalent to the distances experienced by Mars and Earth.[6]

Zond 3's lunar flyby occurred on July 20 with a closest approach of 9,219 km (5,728 mi),[2]approximately 35 hours after launch. 25 visible light photographs and 3 ultraviolet spectra of very good quality were taken of the lunar surface, beginning at 01:24 UTC and 11,570 km (7,190 mi) prior to closest approach and ending at 02:32 UTC and 9,960 km (6,190 mi) past closest approach, covering a period of 68 minutes.[2][7]The photos covered 19 million km2(7.3 million sq mi) of the lunar surface.[8]

Zond 3 proceeded on a trajectory across Mars' orbit, but not at a time when planetary encounter would occur. These images were transmitted by radio frequency on July 29 at a distance of 2.25 million km (1.40 million mi). To test telemetry, the camera film was rewound and retransmitted in mid-August, mid-September, and finally on October 23 at a distance of 31.5 million km (19.6 million mi), thus proving the ability of the communications system.[2]The subsequent transmissions were also at progressively slower data rates but higher quality.[6]The mission was ended after radio contact ceased on March 3, 1966, when it was at a distance of 153.5 million km (95.4 million mi).[2][5]It operated for 228 days, roughly equivalent to the time needed to survive a journey to Mars and exceeding that needed for Venus.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^abSiddiqi, Asif (2018).Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016(PDF)(second ed.). NASA History Program Office.
  2. ^abcdefghLePage, Andrew J. (July 27, 2015)."The mission of Zond 3".The Space Review.
  3. ^"Zond 3 – Trajectory Details".NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive.NASA.RetrievedJune 2,2018.
  4. ^Harvey, Brian (August 17, 2007).Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration.Springer Science+Business Media.p. 82.ISBN978-0-387-73976-2.
  5. ^abHuntress, Wesley T. Jr.; Marov, Mikhail Ya. (2011).Soviet Robots in the Solar System: Mission Technologies and Discoveries.Springer-Praxis Books in Space Exploration.Springer Science+Business Media.pp. 130–132.doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-7898-1.ISBN978-1-4419-7897-4.
  6. ^abTeitel, Amy Shira (July 18, 2013)."Zond 3: First to See Moon's Far Side on the Way to Mars".Discovery News.Archived fromthe originalon April 12, 2016.
  7. ^Siddiqi, Asif A. (June 2002).Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes 1958–2000.Monographs in Aerospace History. Vol. 24. NASA. pp. 49–50.ISBN0-16-067405-0.SP-2002-4524.
  8. ^"Zond 3 - Details".NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive.NASA.RetrievedJune 2,2018.

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Zond 2 		Zond program Succeeded by
None

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