Cardboard/cast ball with paper, Bakelite
Soviet Union, Moscow, 1967
Yuri Naumovich Lipsky (1909-1978) – Soviet astrophysicist
Annotated and inscribed in Cyrillic and with the name Lipsky
Scale: 1:10.000.000
12 printed paper segments and 2 polar ice caps
Moon landings marked and inscribed
Dimensions: 51 cm (height with rod); 110 cm (perimeter)
Good condition
Provenance: Collection Andora, Germany
This globe is an early example of a moon globe with an original map based on the first photographs of the moon’s far side; it also includes the inscribed moon landings until 1973

This is a very early example of a globe that is illustrated with an original map of the moon. What is especially interesting is the depiction of the far side of the moon, which remained unknown for a long time. The two Soviet space missions, the space probes Luna 3 from 1959 and Zond 3 from 1964 successfully returned to earth with the first photographs of the moon’s farside. The cartography by the Soviet astrophysicist Yuri Naumovich Lipsky (1909-1978) from 1967 is partly based on these groundbreaking photographs. The moon globe is comprised of twelve printed paper segments. The two polar ice caps are visible. The moon map with a scale of 1:10.000.000 is annotated and inscribed in Cyrillic. An additional feature of the moon globe are marked and inscribed Soviet and American moon landings of 14.09.54, Luna-5 (12.05.65), Luna-7 (08.10.65), Luna-8 (07.12.65), Luna-9 (03.02.66), Luna-13 (24.12.66), Luna-15 (21.07.69), Luna-16 (20.09.70), Luna-17 (17.11.70), Apollo (30.07.71), Luna-18 (11.09.71), Luna-20 (21.02.72) and Luna-21 (16.01.73). They were mainly crashes of Soviet lunar rovers that had to explore the moon.



The moon globe displays traces of age and wear. The paper is partly torn. The globe is 51 cm in height including the rod and 110 cm in perimeter.



Yuri Naumovich Lipsky (1909-1978)

Yuri Naumovich Lipsky was a Soviet astrophysicist, who was specialized in the fields lunar studies and selenography. During the 50s and 60s he interpreted the first photographs of the Moon’s far side. He studied at the University of Moscow, both for his BA and his MA. The Soviet-Russian astrophysicist Vasilii Fesenkov was a teacher of the University at the time and great inspiration for Lipsky. During the Second World War, Lipsky served in the Soviet defense against Germany. By 1963, he was appointed chief of the Physics of the Moon and Planets Department at the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute of Moscow University. Lipsky is highly respected as the evaluator of the first photographs of the moon’s far side.

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