Posted on 09/02/2006 11:16:44 PM PDT by saganite
Europe's lunar satellite, the Smart 1 probe, has ended its mission by crashing onto the Moon's surface.
It was a spectacular end for the robotic probe, which has spent the last 16 months testing innovative and miniaturised space technologies.
Smart 1 has also produced detailed maps of the Moon's chemical make-up, to help refine theories about its birth.
At about 0542 GMT (0642 BST), the probe crashed into a volcanic plain called the Lake of Excellence.
With an impact speed of about 7,200km/h (4,500mph), even at an expected glancing blow of just one degree to the surface, the probe should have met a sufficiently violent end for astronomers to observe the event from Earth.
It is possible telescopes will have seen fresh lunar "soil", or regolith, kicked up in the crash. They may even detect a thermal flash as volatile materials on the probe melt some of its structure. The impact was expected to leave a 3m by 10m crater on the Moon's surface.
"As planned, Smart 1 has landed," said Professor Bernard Foing, the mission's project scientist from the European Space Agency (Esa).
Gerhard Schwehm, Smart 1 mission manager, said: "Everything worked up until the end, so it was a wonderful mission and a big success. Our spacecraft provided a lot of new information."
A fleet of spacecraft - both orbiters and landers - are now expected to visit the Moon in the next few years.
This train of robotic explorers will culminate in US space explorers returning to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo missions, probably in 2020.
Smart 1 was launched in September 2003 as a technology demonstrator.
It became Europe's first space science mission to use an ion engine instead of chemical combustion to reach its destination.
The system draws power through the probe's solar wings and then uses this energy to propel the spacecraft forward by expelling charged particles of xenon. It was highly efficient, covering 100 million km in a series of looping orbits and using just 60 litres of "fuel".
An ion engine will now be fitted to the majority of Europe's future spacecraft, such as the BepiColumbo mission to Mercury. It has made mineral maps of the Moon's composition, looking at the distribution of calcium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon and iron.
"You won't see any pictures coming straight through as we head towards the ground. But when we finally put the picture together what we will get is maps of what the Moon is made of."
Professor Grande has been principal investigator on one of Smart's miniaturised instruments: the compact X-ray spectrometer known as D-CIXS.
It has made mineral maps of the Moon's composition, looking at the distribution of calcium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon and iron.
Knowing the absolute abundances of these elements will help to refine theories for the Moon's formation. These describe the satellite emerging from the debris thrown out from a mighty collision between Earth and a Mars-sized body billions of years ago.
"Smart 1 will now rest in peace on the Moon," said Professor Foing.
"We are now collaborating with the international community, preparing the way for the future exploration of the Moon - the next fleet of orbiters, landers; leading to robotic villages and human bases."
But, but, I thought our manned moon trips brought this stuff back. Also, did this satellite get a photo of the planted U.S. flag in it's almost one year of recon of the moon?
Everybody knows it's GREEN CHEESE you dumb EU ying-yangs!!! (expletive deleted)
The Apollo astronauts weren't using jackhammers. A hard impact leaving a deep crater and kicking up a lot of debris could tell us a lot about the material a few layers down. What is the importance of that? Beats me. I'm a political science major, for crying out loud. The fact that I know that there is a moon, and that it's not made of cheese, probably puts me ahead of the curve for my cohort.
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