Behind the Shadows: The Secret Life of the Dark Side of the Moon

The moon, our closest celestial companion, dutifully orbits the Earth, playing a vital role in maintaining our planet's orbital stability. Interestingly, the moon stands alone as Earth's permanent natural satellite. In plain terms, without the moon, Earth wouldn't have been suitable for life. However, have you ever realized that from childhood, we have only seen one side of the moon?  

Throughout history, we have consistently observed only one side of the moon. This phenomenon is not limited to just our time; for centuries, since the dawn of human civilization, we have been witness to the same singular view of the moon. We refer to this part of the moon as the "Near side," but what lies concealed on the other side? Are there aliens or any advanced civilizations hiding beyond our view?

According to scientific belief, our moon harbors two distinct faces, one of which is perpetually visible to us, displaying scattered spots of gray and black shades, while on the other hand, the opposite side of the moon, often referred to as the far side or dark side, remains concealed from Earth's gaze and will continue to do so indefinitely. 

To catch a glimpse of the far side of the moon, we had to venture around and position ourselves behind it. Therefore, back in 1959, the Soviet Luna 3 spacecraft embarked on a mission with a sole purpose - capturing photographs of the far side of the moon. In this historic endeavor, for the very first time, we managed to capture an image of the far side of the moon, often referred to as the dark side. Through this extraordinary achievement, we beheld a part of the moon that had remained unseen throughout human history. Through this image, we were able to witness something that is impossible to see from Earth's vantage point.

The backside of the moon appeared notably more intimidating. This region was adorned with numerous craters, remnants of meteor impacts. In comparison to the near side, the far side of the moon boasts a rugged terrain, adorned with numerous impact craters and noticeably fewer flat and dark lunar maria. However, the most peculiar aspect of this region was that, unlike the front side of the moon, it displayed a notable absence of prominent dark spots. This section of the moon was also subject to asteroid and meteor bombardment; however, unlike other regions, magma did not erupt to the surface in this particular part. 

On December 21, 1968, NASA launched the Apollo 8 spacecraft, marking the second crewed spaceflight mission in the Apollo space program. The three astronauts aboard this mission were Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders. These three were the pioneers, becoming the first humans to witness the backside of the moon while orbiting around it in a spacecraft, and astonishingly, they did so with their naked eyes. Furthermore, they managed to capture breathtaking photographs of both the far side of the Moon and a mesmerizing Earthrise. The primary objective of this mission was to orbit the moon, and there was no moon landing conducted during it. The crew completed ten orbits around the Moon without landing and subsequently returned safely to Earth.