Which missions captured images of the backside of the moon?

The Apollo expeditions are recognized for capturing images of the backside of the moon primarily during the Apollo 8 mission, which was the first crewed mission to orbit the moon. This mission, launched in December 1968, provided a historic view of the moon's far side, as it orbited the lunar body, allowing astronauts to photograph areas that had never been seen by humans before. These images were significant because they contributed to our understanding of the moon's geography and geology, highlighting the differences between the near side and the far side of the moon.

In contrast, the other missions mentioned did not capture images of the moon's far side. The Gemini missions focused on developing space travel techniques and docking procedures but did not involve lunar exploration. The Mercury missions were the first human spaceflight program and were limited to Earth orbit, never reaching the moon. The Venera probes were launched by the Soviet Union to explore Venus, not the moon, making them irrelevant to the question about lunar photography.