The plan included provisions for the development of scientific spacecraft to map Earth's Van Allen radiation belts.

[3] The experiment packages for Elektron 1 and 3 were identical, each including a radio frequency mass spectrometer; Geiger counters, scintillation counters, and semiconductor detectors for radiation studies; a piezoelectric micrometeoroid detector; a galactic radio-noise receiver, and a radio beacon for ionospheric studies.

To achieve this orbit, Elektron 2 and 4 were each equipped with solid-propellant perigee kick motor of 3,350 kgf and 12 to 15 seconds duration.

[6] The experiment packages for Elektron 2 and 4 were also identical, and each included a radio frequency mass spectrometer; Geiger counters, scintillation counters, and semiconductor detectors for radiation studies; a spherical ion trap; two three-axis fluxgate magnetometers; a galactic radio-noise receiver; solar X-ray photometers; and a Cerenkov-scintillator cosmic-ray telescope.

[7]: 2 The Elektron satellites returned data that supported more than a dozen technical papers on a variety of subjects including near-Earth magnetic fields, particle distribution, and ionospheric studies,[13] and allowed the assessment of risk to both cosmonauts and satellites from radiation in outer space.

[5] The Elektron satellites returned considerable measurements on the make-up of Earth's atmosphere to an altitude of 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi), including the concentration of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen ions.

[15] In July 1965, Elektron 1 and 2 were displayed among the new exhibits at Kosmos Pavilion in the Soviet exposition on achievements of U.S.S.R's national economy.