This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/sci/tech/5309656.stm
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 6 | Version 7 |
|---|---|
| Probe crashes into Moon's surface | Probe crashes into Moon's surface |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Europe's lunar satellite, the Smart 1 probe, has ended its mission by crashing onto the Moon's surface in a controlled collision. | Europe's lunar satellite, the Smart 1 probe, has ended its mission by crashing onto the Moon's surface in a controlled collision. |
| It was a spectacular end for the robotic probe, which has spent the last 16 months testing innovative and miniaturised space technologies. | 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. | Smart 1 has also produced detailed maps of the Moon's chemical make-up, to help refine theories about its birth. |
| At 0542 GMT (0642 BST), the probe thumped into a volcanic lunar plain. | |
| 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 telescopes to observe the event from Earth. | 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 telescopes to observe the event from Earth. |
| Smart 1 was returning pictures as it plunged towards the Lake of Excellence. Controllers and scientists at the European Space Agency (Esa) operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany clapped and cheered after the spacecraft smacked into the surface. | Smart 1 was returning pictures as it plunged towards the Lake of Excellence. Controllers and scientists at the European Space Agency (Esa) operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany clapped and cheered after the spacecraft smacked into the surface. |
| Astronomers in Hawaii observed a flash as Smart 1 crashed"As planned, Smart 1 has landed," said Professor Bernard Foing, the mission's project scientist from Esa. | Astronomers in Hawaii observed a flash as Smart 1 crashed"As planned, Smart 1 has landed," said Professor Bernard Foing, the mission's project scientist from Esa. |
| The Canada France Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, in Hawaii captured an infrared picture of a bright flash as Smart 1 hit its target. | The Canada France Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, in Hawaii captured an infrared picture of a bright flash as Smart 1 hit its target. |
| "I was really surprised as the flash was very impressive. I was betting on not seeing much," said Gerhard Schwehm, mission manager for Smart 1. | "I was really surprised as the flash was very impressive. I was betting on not seeing much," said Gerhard Schwehm, mission manager for Smart 1. |
| The hope now is that the impact will have kicked up a big enough plume of fresh lunar "soil" for scientists to study its composition using ground telescopes. | The hope now is that the impact will have kicked up a big enough plume of fresh lunar "soil" for scientists to study its composition using ground telescopes. |
| The impact was expected to leave a 3m by 10m crater on the Moon, spreading debris over 78 sq km (30 sq miles). | The impact was expected to leave a 3m by 10m crater on the Moon, spreading debris over 78 sq km (30 sq miles). |
| "We know a lot about the Moon, but there are things we need to know more precisely if we are to embark on ambitious projects like those the US has planned," Dr Schwehm told the BBC News website. | "We know a lot about the Moon, but there are things we need to know more precisely if we are to embark on ambitious projects like those the US has planned," Dr Schwehm told the BBC News website. |
| A fleet of spacecraft - both orbiters and landers - are now expected to visit the Moon in the next few years. | 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. | 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 on an Ariane-5 rocket in September 2003 as a technology demonstrator. | Smart 1 was launched on an Ariane-5 rocket 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. | It became Europe's first space science mission to use an ion engine instead of chemical combustion to reach its destination. |
| GIANT IMPACT THEORIES Suggest Mars-sized object crashed into early EarthDebris thrown into space aggregated into the MoonEvidence in similar composition of Earth and Moon rocksSmart will tell how much Earth is in the Moon and vice versa 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". | GIANT IMPACT THEORIES Suggest Mars-sized object crashed into early EarthDebris thrown into space aggregated into the MoonEvidence in similar composition of Earth and Moon rocksSmart will tell how much Earth is in the Moon and vice versa 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". |
| "It will take a long time for it to work through the detail, the devil is in the detail with the X-ray instruments," said Smart 1 scientist Professor Manuel Grande of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. | "It will take a long time for it to work through the detail, the devil is in the detail with the X-ray instruments," said Smart 1 scientist Professor Manuel Grande of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. |
| "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." | "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. | Professor Grande has been principal investigator on one of Smart's miniaturised instruments: the compact X-ray spectrometer known as D-CIXS. |
| SMART'S SPACE GAINS Mini-instruments, navigation and operational software to go on future Solar System probes Smart-like solar-electric engines to become the dominant propulsion systemData improves Moon knowledge - history of impacts and volcanism; good landing sites It has made mineral maps of the Moon's composition, looking at the distribution of calcium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon and iron. | SMART'S SPACE GAINS Mini-instruments, navigation and operational software to go on future Solar System probes Smart-like solar-electric engines to become the dominant propulsion systemData improves Moon knowledge - history of impacts and volcanism; good landing sites 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. | 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. | "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." | "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." |
| On Saturday, mission controllers had to raise Smart 1's orbit by 600m (2,000ft) to avoid hitting a crater rim on final approach. Had the orbit not been raised, the craft would have crashed one orbit too soon - making the impact difficult or impossible to observe. | On Saturday, mission controllers had to raise Smart 1's orbit by 600m (2,000ft) to avoid hitting a crater rim on final approach. Had the orbit not been raised, the craft would have crashed one orbit too soon - making the impact difficult or impossible to observe. |
| HOW SMART 1'S ION ENGINE WORKS 1. Xenon gas atoms are pumped into a cylindrical chamber, where they collide with electrons from the cathode. The electrons - which are negatively charged - knock electrons off the xenon atoms, creating xenon ions - which are positively charged.2. Coils outside the chamber create a magnetic field, which causes electrons from the cathode to spiral and become trapped at the mouth of the chamber.3. The build-up of negatively charged electrons at the mouth of the chamber attracts the positively charged ions, accelerating them out of the chamber.4. The stream of accelerated ions leaving the chamber thrusts the spacecraft forward. Although the force is small, over time it creates great speed in the frictionless environment of space. | HOW SMART 1'S ION ENGINE WORKS 1. Xenon gas atoms are pumped into a cylindrical chamber, where they collide with electrons from the cathode. The electrons - which are negatively charged - knock electrons off the xenon atoms, creating xenon ions - which are positively charged.2. Coils outside the chamber create a magnetic field, which causes electrons from the cathode to spiral and become trapped at the mouth of the chamber.3. The build-up of negatively charged electrons at the mouth of the chamber attracts the positively charged ions, accelerating them out of the chamber.4. The stream of accelerated ions leaving the chamber thrusts the spacecraft forward. Although the force is small, over time it creates great speed in the frictionless environment of space. |