Open AccessSMART‐1 spacecraft to crash into Moon
Author(s) -
Zielinski Sarah
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2006eo350004
Subject(s) - spacecraft , ion thruster , astrobiology , aerospace engineering , lunar orbit , electrically powered spacecraft propulsion , aeronautics , solar system , propulsion , remote sensing , engineering , physics , geology
The European Space Agency's (ESA) spacecraft SMART‐1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology) concludes its nearly three‐year mission by crashing into the lunar Lake of Excellence on 2 or 3 September. The craft has used an innovative electric propulsion engine—which works by expelling xenon gas ions to produce thrust and is powered by solar panels—to orbit first the Earth and then the Moon.With a miniature camera and X‐ray and infrared spectrometers, SMART‐1 has been mapping the moon since March 2005. This is the first spacecraft to detect calcium and magnesium from orbit, which are potential clues to the origin of the Moon.