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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 were 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. This 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 on removal of vertical and horizontal image stripes and noise reduction.
Luna 3 Mosaic Luna 3 Processed Frames Frame 26 - 500mm objective Frame 28 - 500mm objective Frame 29 - 200mm objective Frame 31- 200mm objective Frame 32 - 500mm objective Frame 35 - 200mm objective
Luna 3 Mosaic
Luna 3 Processed Frames
Camera system data:
a) Film
b) Transmission
c) CRT
d) Film
(c) 2008 Webdesign, images and text by Ricardo Nunes