Yes, there are many pictures of the Moon’s surface that faces away from Earth, a region commonly but inaccurately called the “dark side.” The correct astronomical term for this unseen hemisphere is the far side. These images, captured by various spacecraft, have revealed a lunar landscape drastically different from the one we observe nightly. These photographs allow scientists to study the entire lunar surface and understand the geological forces that shaped it.
Understanding the Far Side vs. the Dark Side
The common belief that one side of the Moon is perpetually dark misunderstands how the Moon moves in space. The Moon is tidally locked with Earth, meaning its period of rotation on its axis is exactly the same as its period of revolution around our planet. This synchronization ensures the same hemisphere, the near side, always faces Earth, while the far side always faces away.
The term “dark side” incorrectly suggests a hemisphere that never receives sunlight. In reality, both the near side and the far side experience a full two-week period of daylight followed by a two-week period of night as the Moon cycles through phases. When we see a New Moon from Earth, the far side is actually fully illuminated by the Sun. The far side was only ever “dark” because it was mysterious and entirely hidden from human view for millennia.
The First Look: Capturing the Far Side
The first time humanity saw the far side of the Moon was during the Cold War space race, achieved by the Soviet Union’s Luna program. The Luna 3 spacecraft launched in October 1959, marking the first successful attempt to photograph the hidden hemisphere. The probe began taking pictures from a distance of about 40,000 miles, covering approximately 70% of the far side’s surface.
The initial images transmitted back to Earth were of low resolution and noisy, but they provided the first glimpse of a previously unknown world. The Luna 3 data immediately revealed a surface surprisingly different from the familiar near side. Following this success, the U.S. Lunar Orbiter program in the mid-1960s provided high-resolution photographic mapping of the far side, confirming the initial observations.
Human eyes first witnessed the far side during the Apollo 8 mission in December 1968, when the crew became the first people to orbit the Moon. Since then, numerous missions, including the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and China’s Chang’e program, have captured detailed, high-definition images of the entire far side. These spacecraft have allowed scientists to create comprehensive maps and study the terrain.
What the Pictures Reveal: Geological Differences
The photographs of the far side reveal a stark geological dichotomy with the near side. The most striking difference is the scarcity of lunar maria, which are the vast, dark, smooth plains formed by ancient volcanic lava flows. These maria cover about 31% of the near side, creating the familiar “Man in the Moon” pattern.
In contrast, the far side is dominated by heavily cratered, rugged highlands, with only about 1% of its surface covered by maria. This hemispheric asymmetry is a major puzzle in lunar science. The far side’s crust is also significantly thicker than the near side’s, which likely inhibited magma from flowing up to the surface to form large maria.
Scientists link this difference to the concentration of a unique geochemical layer on the near side called KREEP. KREEP is an acronym for rock enriched in Potassium (K), Rare Earth Elements (REE), and Phosphorus (P). These elements contain heat-producing radioactive isotopes, which kept the near side’s interior warmer and allowed for extensive volcanic activity. The warmer temperatures and lower melting point of KREEP-rich rock facilitated the large-scale eruptions that created the near side’s maria.
One leading theory proposes that the massive impact that formed the South Pole-Aitken basin on the far side caused a thermal disturbance that pushed the KREEP materials toward the opposite side of the Moon. This concentration of heat-generating elements on the near side provides an explanation for the dramatic difference in volcanic features. The images from the far side show a lunar hemisphere that cooled and solidified much earlier than the near side.