On Sept. 3, 2006, a European satellite tv for pc named SMART-1 crashed into the moon! This wasn’t truly as disastrous because it sounds, as a result of the spacecraft did it on objective.
SMART-1 launched in 2003 and was the primary European spacecraft to go to the moon. It was additionally the primary mission of a program referred to as Small Missions for Superior Analysis in Know-how, which was a collection of low-cost spacecraft that the European Space Agency launched to check new spaceflight applied sciences.
SMART-1’s main goal was to check one thing referred to as Photo voltaic Electrical Main Propulsion, or a solar-powered electrical engine. While it orbited the moon for nearly two years, it appeared for water ice and different chemical substances on the lunar floor.
When SMART-1 slammed into the moon, that was additionally finished for science. Astronomers again on Earth watched the affect with their telescopes, hoping that it could give them some perception into the mechanics of meteor impacts.
Why it mattered
At its core, ESA’s SMART-1 moon probe was a know-how testbed for spacecraft applied sciences, that does not imply the mission was with out science benefit.
The spacecraft carried a collection of devices to map the floor of the moon, research the mineral composition of the lunar surface and hunt down infrared signatures for indicators of water ice. Scientists hoped the probe would assist construct a geologic historical past of the moon to raised perceive its violent origins in a cosmic impact.
(Picture credit score: P. Stooke/B. Foing et al 2017/ NASA/GSFC/Arizona State College)
SMART-1 completed all this and extra. The mission was anticipated to final simply six months on the moon, however the probe continued for about three years.
ESA initially anticipated SMART-1 to crash into the moon in September 2005, however mission managers devised a collection of engine maneuvers that added a full yr onto the mission. A good later maneuver, which fully exhausted SMART-1’s xenon provide, prolonged the probe’s life by a number of extra weeks, ESA officials have said.
Biggest moon crashes ever
However on Sept. 3, 2006, the moon’s gravity pulled SMART-1 out of its lunar orbit. The probe crashed into the moon at a comparatively sluggish 4,473 mph (7,200 kph) — Leonid meteoroid impacts on the moon are greater than of 156,585 mph (252,000 kph), for instance — in a area referred to as the “Lake of Excellence.” No spacecraft in lunar orbit noticed its demise, however a telescope on Earth did document the flash from the lunar affect.
It will take one other 11 years earlier than NASA’s Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter as capable of spot the gouge within the lunar floor brought on by the SMART-1 affect. That probe’s picture confirmed that SMART-1 created a crater simply over 13 ft (4 meters) extensive and a gouge over 65 ft (20 m) lengthy when it slammed into the moon. You may see the picture beneath.
(Picture credit score: P. Stooke/B. Foing et al 2017/ NASA/GSFC/Arizona State College)
Nonetheless, demonstrating the photo voltaic electrical ion engine on SMART-1, which used inert xenon fuel as a propellant, was the first objective of the mission.
On the time, SMART-1 was solely the second spacecraft to check the photo voltaic electrical engine (NASA’s Deep Space 1 was the primary). ESA hoped the mission may serve result in a brand new period of interplanetary exploration by utilizing a lower-cost and extra fuel-efficent means of reaching different planets. The mission, ESA stated on the time, may pave the way in which for missions to Mercury, asteroids and extra.
At the moment, these hopes have been realized, fairly actually.
The BepiColombo mission to Mercury, a joint effort by the European Area Company and Japan to ship two orbiters to the planet, is beginning its arrival phase today – Sept. 3, 2026 – by releasing the joined orbiter forward of orbital entry. The Mercury Switch Module that carried the 2 probes towards Mercury is powered by a solar electric xenon propulsion system.
NASA’s Psyche asteroid spacecraft, Dawn asteroid mission and DART asteroid impact mission additionally used related propulsion techniques.
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