Which Soviet spacecraft transmitted the very first, albeit grainy, images of the Moon's hidden far side in 1959?
Answer
Luna 3
The initial exploration and mapping of the Moon's far side began in 1959 with the Soviet Union's Luna 3 mission. This spacecraft successfully maneuvered around the Moon and managed to transmit back the first photographic evidence of the terrain hidden from Earth. Although the images transmitted were noted for being grainy due to the technological limitations of the time, they provided humanity with its first look at the previously unknown hemisphere, shifting it from pure speculation to a known landscape.

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