Europe's 1st lunar mission reaches moon

Yahoo & AP ^ | September 2, 2006

[Lunatic Fringe]

DARMSTADT, Germany (AP) First European spacecraft to moon makes planned crash landing on lunar surface.

[PastaMan]

I wonder if the "black box" and "data recorder box" will be recovered? ;)

[GretchenM]

They COULD have left out the crash and trash part of the mission.

Just wait. The day will come when Americans are gonna have to fork over the dough to clean up the mess.

[_Jim]

The "crash" was being monitored here from the Earth.

Via _________________________________ (fill in the blank; specify parameters monitored and how this was accomplished as in how those parameters were 'monitored')?

[longtermmemmory]

so they are copying the old soviet crash in moon tests and teh old USA crash in moon tests.

[samtheman]

SMART-1 — Small Mission for Advanced Research and Technology — was launched into Earth orbit by an Ariane-5 booster rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, in September 2003. The ion engine slowly raised the orbit over 14 months until the moon's gravity grabbed the probe. Because of that, the spacecraft took the long way — traveling more than 62 million miles instead of the direct route of 217,000 to 250,000 miles flown by U.S. astronauts on Apollo missions to reach the moon in three days. But ESA did it for a relatively cheap $140 million.

So nearly 40 years after we landed men on the moon, they took 14 months to crash an unmanned "probe" onto the lunar surface. And this proves what?

[xcamel]

And I bet the little robots will br called "Luna-Tics"

[toddlintown]

Why not Uranus?

[rogator]

"sorry to burst your bubble, but the technology used for the US Lunar missions was European (Nazi infact)..."

Wasn't the bestknown of these folks named Wernher Von Braun?
Hitlers rocket scientist, inventor of the V-2, he later became the first Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

[Dave Elias]

"That's what I thought. Do they have Velcro, yet?"

Given that the Europeans actually invented Velcro (the name itself is a french portmanteau word 'VELour - CROchet') your post is simply stupid.

Presumably it was an rather unmagnanimous attempt to mock others, which unfortunately backfired when the facts got in the way....ha.

[Gondring]

This was not the first ion motor to fly.

That was my point, exactly.

[killermedic]

So Europe is all one country now and deserves kudos for doing something that we did over 50 years ago? I....Don't.....get.....it....head.....hurting!!!!!!

[George W. Bush]

planned crash landing

And only 35 years after we landed men there and brough them home.

Yeah, the Euroweenies are on a roll.

[drtom]

Instead of spending your time displaying your ignorance you could of course also use it to research the actual purpose of this mission.

The goal was to build an ion engine self-sufficient enough to reach the moon. Solar energy was used to create an electromagnetic field strong enough to accelerate xenon ions so that the resulting momentum would propel the space craft into ever higher orbits until it would be in reach of lunar gravity.

And, no, we have never done that.

Why don't you go and post on some college football threads instead.

[Enchante]

Hey, Euro-weenies, you're about 37 years too late and an unmanned mission to such a nearby target simply doesn't impress..... Yawn..... let us know when you're ready to colonize Mars with some socialist weenies......

[George W. Bush]

Instead of spending your time displaying your ignorance you could of course also use it to research the actual purpose of this mission.

You mean that it was a rather useless demonstration by a third-rate space agency?

SMART-1 — Small Mission for Advanced Research and Technology — was launched into Earth orbit by an Ariane-5 booster rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, in September 2003. The ion engine slowly raised the orbit over 14 months until the moon's gravity grabbed the probe.

Because of that, the spacecraft took the long way — traveling more than 62 million miles instead of the direct route of 217,000 to 250,000 miles flown by U.S. astronauts on Apollo missions to reach the moon in three days. But ESA did it for a relatively cheap $140 million.

Have you made any estimates of how long a mission to Mars or Mercury or the gas giants would take? Would the designers of such probes live long enough to see the results of their work?

It's very unlikely that this kind of ion-propelled spacecraft will see much use. Even if we decide to build moonbases, transporting raw materials there in this way isn't necessarily the most desirable. The cost of transporting to orbit from Earth seems likely to vastly outweigh the meager economy of using ion transport to the moon.

[Perisylph]

Yeah - it's hilarious to make fun of the Europeans constantly. Despite the fact that they're going to be taking over our scientific role soon.

[68 grunt]

... It is like that on many (if not most) science threads these days.

It is like that on many (if not most) science threads these days.

[Rameumptom]

Just a little jingoistic nationalism here on my part ;-)

but....

The whole thing about technology and history and German superiority is that it didn't really matter that they excelled in one area (Rockets) because we whooped them on all the other fronts. They shot themselves in the foot by the whole oppressive regime thing since most people with a brain and means (including scientists) fled the coutnry.

Germany never effectively used its V-2 Rockets. More people were killed assembling them than were killed by them landing. Their best scientists fled to the good ole US of A. Verner Von Braun became a Naturalized US citizen. He was arrested briefly by the Nazi's too. He's American now. Einstien revoked his German citizenship by request and became a US citizen. They are just the most famous of thousands.

Werner Von Braun

In the 15th Century China had the best Navy in the world. They could have "discovered" America before Columbus, but they refused to put it to good use.

Rise and Fall of 15th Century Chinese Seapower

USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

[Rameumptom]

>>>your post is simply stupid.

Getting kinda huffy aren't we?

>>>presumably it was an rather unmagnanimous attempt to mock others, which unfortunately backfired when the facts got in the way....ha.

I thought TN's mockery was pretty good. I like science but can also enjoy a good laugh at the expense of science.

Thanks EuroVelcro

[Private_Sector_Does_It_Better]

Q. Why do they have tree lined boulevards in Paris

A. Because the Germans like to march in the shade.