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European Space Agency
Published: November 11, 2004
On the 16th Novemeber, SMART-1, the European Space Agency lunar orbiter will start to orbit the moon preparing for a scan of the surface to analyse it's constitution, amongst other things. I'm a huge fan of "beyond the Earth" science and cannot wait for results to feed back. It's deemed that the moon was formed by a huge impact with a Mars sized planet and our own planet Earth of which the devastation left over created our little galactic neighbour.
What's incredible is the SMART-1 craft itself. SMART-1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology) is an ion powered rocket that was launched from Kourou, French Guiana over a year ago. It uses a new solar-electric propulsion system to turn solar power to electricity which then heats up Xenon which powers the craft. On it's 236,000 mile journey, it has only used 60Kg of fuel so it's very economical.
Back to the point. Once in the correct orbit, SMART-1 also will scan the lunar surface for resources for future, manned, missions. It will survey the craters at the South Pole, something that has never been done before, and will map the Peak of Eternal Light, a mountain top that is permanently sunlit. Scientists expect that craters near the mountain will contain water ice.
If you're interested in developements regarding the lunar orbiter, see the article in the European Space Agencies website or even view their calendar to see the forthcoming events.
Is their ever going to be a space shutel which launces men and women into space just like Nasa does?