spacetoday.net: SMART-1 crashes into the Moon

Posted: Sun, Sep 3, 2006, 11:12 AM ET (1512 GMT)
SMART-1 illustration (ESA)

ESA's SMART-1 spacecraft ended its mission early Sunday with a planned crash into the lunar surface. The spacecraft, which had been in orbit around the Moon since late 2004, crashed into a small lava plain called the Lake of Excellence at 1:42 am EDT (0542 GMT) Sunday. The impact was declared a success by ESA, although a last-minute orbit correct was needed to prevent the spacecraft from colliding with a crater wall. The location and timing of the impact was selected to allow the flash and dust plume from the impact to be seen by observers on the Earth; at least one telescope in Hawaii reported seeing the impact flash. SMART-1, ESA's first lunar mission, was primarily a technology demonstration mission to test systems like the spacecraft's ion engine, but also carried a number of scientific instruments that imaged the lunar surface and collected data about composition of the lunar surface. The 366-kilogram spacecraft was launched as a secondary payload on an Ariane 5 in September 2003.