Exploring the Moon 

on stamps

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1959 Mongolia 30 m 

A fanciful representation of Luna 3 being launched to the Moon. The design of the rocket is entirely imaginary, as no pictures of actual Russian space launchers had been released at the time. 

SG 178

1959 Mongolia 50 m 

Luna 3 with a crude representation of the far side of the Moon based on Luna 3’s pictures. 

SG 179

1959 Romania 1.60 l 

Luna 3’s view of the lunar farside, annotated with names of features in Romanian and Russian. This is the best representation of the Luna 3 picture on a stamp. 

SG 2694

1959 Romania 1.75 l 

Diagram of Luna 3’s trajectory around the Moon and back around the Earth. 

SG 2695

1960 Russia 40 k 

Luna 3 photographing the far side of the Moon. 

SG 2431

Background image:

The waning crescent Moon. 

(European Southern Observatory) 

1960 Russia 60 k 

Annotated map of the far side of the Moon, based on Luna 3’s pictures. 

SG 2432 

Text © Ian Ridpath

These pages support Ian’s talk on Exploring the Moon

1960 China 8 f 

Commemoration of the Soviet Luna 2, the first craft to hit the Moon. It carried a plaque with the Soviet coat of arms. 

SG 1907