The 50th Anniversary of the Beginning the Moon Research by Space Equipment

Obverse

in the centre - the emblem of the Bank of Russia [the two-headed eagle with wings down, under it - the semicircular inscription "БАНК РОССИИ" (BANK OF RUSSIA)] framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim - on top: "ТРИ РУБЛЯ" (THREE RUBLES), below: to the left - indications of the precious metal and its fineness, in the centre - the year of issue "2009 г." (2009), to the right - the fine metal content and the mint trade mark.

Reverse

to the left - the fragment of Moon's surface, to the right against the background of the celestial sky - the image of a space apparatus and colored depiction of planet of the Earth, inscriptions along the rim - on the mirror surface of celestial sky: "50-ЛЕТИЕ НАЧАЛА ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ ЛУНЫ" (THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING THE MOON'S RESEARCH) and on the matted surface of the Moon: "КОСМИЧЕСКИМИ АППАРАТАМИ" (BY SPACE EQUIPMENT).

Authors

The artist: S.A. Kozlov.
The sculptor: F.S. Andronov.
Mint: Saint Petersburg Mint (СПМД).
The edge: 300 corrugations.

The program "Luna" (The Moon) envisaged three generations of space equipment. The first one was targeted in 1959 on reaching the Moon and getting photos of its backside. The goal of the second series (1963-1968 гг.) was the launching The Moon's artificial satelliet. The aim of the third one (1969-1976 гг.) was the delivery of self-propelled apparatuses "Lunokhod" linked from the Earth to the surface of the Moon.