\<COLOUR 1> LAUNCH DATE: \<COLOUR 0> October 4, 1959
\<COLOUR 1> LAUNCH SITE: \<COLOUR 0> Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Central Asia
\<COLOUR 1> LAUNCH VEHICLE: \<COLOUR 0> A-1
\<COLOUR 1> WEIGHT: \<COLOUR 0> 279 kg
\<COLOUR 1> MISSION: \<COLOUR 0> Lunar flyby
\<COLOUR 1> CLOSEST APPROACH: \<COLOUR 0> 6,000 km
\<COLOUR 1> COUNTRY: \<COLOUR 0> USSR
\<COLOUR 1> COMMENTS: \<COLOUR 0> On October 7 Luna 3 begins taking photographs of the Moon from a distance of about 65,000 km; images show the far side of the Moon for the first time.