Crescent Moon European Southern Observatory
Astronaut saluting the flag

Exploring the Moon 

on stamps

Click on a stamp for an enlargement on a new page 

1966 East Germany 20pf stamp Luna 9

1966 East Germany 20 pf 

Luna 9, the first successful Moon lander, on the surface. The surrounding steep hills are purely for artistic purposes, and in reality the Earth would have been much higher in the sky. 

SG E886

1966 Hungary 2ft stamp Luna 9

1966 Hungary 2 ft 

Luna 9 descending to the surface of the Moon. The probe is shown firing retro-rockets, which it did not in fact have. Luna 9 was actually attached to a main bus which fired braking rockets and then ejected the lander sphere onto the surface. 

SG 2165


1966 Hungary 3ft stamp Luna 9

1966 Hungary 3 ft 

Luna 9 transmitting data to Earth (shown low on the horizon for artistic purposes) from the surface of the Moon. 

SG 2166

1966 Vietnam (North) 12x stamp Luna 9

1966 Vietnam (North) 12 x 

Luna 9 on its way to the Moon, apparently performing a mid-course correction with its rockets. 

SG N445

1966 Vietnam (North) 50x stamp Luna 9

1966 Vietnam (North) 50 x 

Luna 9 seen symbolically resting on the lunar surface. 

SG N446

1969 Russia 10k stamp Zond 5

1969 Russia 10 k 

Stylized representation of Zond 5 looping behind the Moon and returning to Earth. 

SG 3667


1969 Russia stamp sheet Zond 6 and 7

1969 Russia 50 k + 50 k

A souvenir sheet commemorating the flights of Zond 6 and Zond 7 around the Moon in 1968 and 1969. Zond 7 took pictures of the Earth and Moon, examples of which are shown on the sheet. 

SG MS3758


Background image:

The waning crescent Moon. 

(European Southern Observatory


Text © Ian Ridpath


These pages support Ian’s talk on Exploring the Moon