Zond 3
| Mission type | Lunar science | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | OKB-1 | ||||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 1965-056A | ||||||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 01454 | ||||||||||||||
| Mission duration | 228 days | ||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft type | 3MV-4 | ||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 | ||||||||||||||
| Launch mass | 950 kg (2,090 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||||
| Launch date | July 18, 1965, 14:32 UTC | ||||||||||||||
| Rocket | Molniya SL-6/A-2-e | ||||||||||||||
| Launch site | Baikonur LC-1/5 | ||||||||||||||
| End of mission | |||||||||||||||
| Last contact | March 3, 1966 | ||||||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||||||
| Reference system | Heliocentric | ||||||||||||||
| Eccentricity | 0.2683 | ||||||||||||||
| Perihelion altitude | 0.9 AU (130 million km) | ||||||||||||||
| Aphelion altitude | 1.56 AU (233 million km) | ||||||||||||||
| Inclination | 0.5° | ||||||||||||||
| Period | 500 days | ||||||||||||||
| Epoch | July 19, 1965, 20:00 UTC | ||||||||||||||
| Flyby of Moon | |||||||||||||||
| Closest approach | July 20, 1965 | ||||||||||||||
| Distance | 9,219 km (5,728 mi) | ||||||||||||||
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Zond 3 was a 1965 space probe which performed a flyby of the Moon's far side, taking 28 quality photographs. It was a member of the Soviet Zond program while also being part of the Mars 3MV project. 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 to Zond 2 to 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.