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What would happen to the station if and when it rounded the moon and headed back to the earth was anybody's guess. It might burn up in the earth's atmosphere or miss it widely, shooting far beyond and returning again. It might make many different swings, perturbed by the influence of the moon. One thing was certain: it would not go into a permanent orbit around both earth and moon. The moon is relatively fast on its own orbit around the earth; by the time Lunik III swung back, the moon would have moved on.
Lunik III carried "scientific and radio equipment powered by solar batteries and chemical sources of electricity." The Russians explained that radio signals carrying data from the instruments would be sent to earth intermittently for a total of two to four hours a day. "The operation of the equipment will be controlled from a coordinating and computing center on the earth." Since Soviet receiving stations do not girdle the turning earth, Lunik III was presumably programed to transmit its signals only when they would reach Soviet territory.
As Lunik III soared on, Soviet scientists waxed confident, began to loosen up about its objectives. Leningrad Physicist Lev Ponayeton said that data from the unseen side of the moon will help determine its shape and distribution of mass, which will be of tremendous help to manned space flights. Semi-official science reporters went farther, predicted that Lunik III would transmit actual photographs of the other side of the moon. Official scientists did not mention photographs, but it was significant that they launched their rocket at a time when most of the far side of the moon was in sunlight. Presumably, any picture of the moon's far side would be stored (perhaps on magnetic tape), and transmitted when Lunik III was close to the earth on its return trip. The solar batteries could be programed to store up plenty of electric current for the historic broadcast.
In the U.S. official sources were struck with sudden silence. In the past the usual comment was that Russian space vehicles are big and brawny because of more powerful launching rockets, but that U.S. space vehicles, small and elegant, made up for the Russians' gross size by their sophistication.
This alibi is wearing thin. U.S. instruments are indeed sophisticated, but to judge by their achievements, Russian space vehicles must be packed with gadgetry that is just as good, perhaps better. The Russians' guidance systems perform well, their radios work fine. So do their instruments, which have made important scientific discoveries deep in space, such as proof by Lunik II that the moon has no magnetic field. If Lunik III should round the moon and bring back pictures, or even nonpictorial data, about the mysterious far side, the U.S. would have to admit that the Russians are far ahead, not only in power or in sophistication of instruments, but in all the departments of space exploration.