Luna 1960B (E-3 series) was the third Soviet attempt to photograph the far side of the Moon, the first being the highly successful Luna 3 mission and the second being the unsuccessful Luna 1960A. Luna 1960B was launched on April 16, 1960. It was designed to duplicate the Luna 3 mission, but with higher resolution cameras and a closer approach to the Moon.
The mission was a failure. At lift-off the four strap-on boosters of the rocket ignited incorrectly, broke loose, and fired in random directions. The accident also caused damage to the launch pad.
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