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SMART-1 is
the first European spacecraft to orbit the Moon and the first
European probe to use an ion engine as its main propulsion
system. SMART stands for Small Missions for Advanced
Research in Technology.
SMART-1
is the first of ESA’s (European Space Agency) Small Missions for
Advanced Research in Technology and has used many innovative
space techniques. It was
designed as
a technology
demonstrator
mission to
prepare for future
interplanetary
missions to
Mercury and maybe Mars.
The objectives of
Smart-1 are to:
1.
Validate a solar-powered ion engine as the main propulsion
system and in turn demonstrate ion propulsion for space
exploration.
2. Test miniaturised spacecraft equipment and instruments.
3. Test a navigation system which in the long term will allow
spacecraft to autonomously navigate through the solar system.
4. Test a space communication technique whereby SMART-1 will
establish a link with the Earth using a laser beam.
5. Make the first comprehensive inventory of key chemical
elements in the lunar surface.
6. Look for water (in the form of ice) on the Moon.
Specs:
Launch
Mass: 366.5kg
On-orbit Dry Mass: 305 kg
Dimensions: 1 cubic metre
Instruments Total Mass: 19 kg
Spacecraft Cost:
110-million euro (US$85-million)
The ion
propulsion uses xenon as a propellant. ) It
uses a Hall effect thruster.
Mission Operations Centre is based at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany. Science and Technology
Operations Co-ordination is located at ESTEC, Noordwijk, The
Netherlands. Ground stations in ESA's deep space network around
the world are also used.
Instruments
Electric
Propulsion Diagnostic Package (EPDP) (Italy):
To monitor the working of the propulsion system and its effects
on the spacecraft.
D-CIXS
(Rutherford
Appleton Laboratory, United Kingdom):
To investigate the composition of the Moon and to create the
first global map of the Moon in X-rays.
XSM
(University of
Helsinki Observatory, Finland): To
calibrate the D-CIXS data and study solar X-ray emission.
AMIE
(CSEM, Switzerland): To test a miniaturised
camera and take colour images of the Moon surface. Photographs
can be used for potential landing sites for future robotic or
human missions.
SPEDE
(Finland): Together with EPSP
used to study the space plasma environment.
Ka/X-band
TTC (Telemetry and Telecommand) Experiment (KaTE) (Astrium
GmbH, Germany): To test more efficient communication
techniques with Earth.
RSIS
(Italy): Use the KaTE and AMIE
instruments to investigate the way the Moon wobbles.
On-Board
Autonomous Navigation (OBAN) (ESA):
Software to allow the spaceprobe to guide itself to the Moon,
designed to minimize the amount of ground intervention required
for the mission.
SIR
(Institute für Aeronomie, Germany):
To search for ice and make a mineralogical mapping of the Moon
Mission
History
Launch:
Smart-1 was launched on 27
September 2003 as a piggy back payload on an Ariane 5 rocket
which contained communication satellites. It
was designed for a nominal six-month mission. Smart-1 spacecraft
used its solar
powered ion propulsion system to spiral its way to the Moon. It
has validated a solar-powered ion engine as the main propulsion
system.
November 2004:
On November 11th, after 322
loops around the Earth, the spacecraft crossed the weak
gravitational boundary at the L1 Lagrangian point between Earth
and the Moon. Smart-1 was then captured by
the lunar gravity and entered
initial lunar orbit on 15 November 2004.
Originally mission planners expected the
spacecraft to reach lunar orbit by March 2005.
January 2005:
Smart 1 reached its final orbit
around the moon.
15 February 2005:
Smart-1 mission was extended by
one year to August 2006. The original mission was going to last
six months and end in August 2005.
August
2006: The end of the Smart-1 mission.
Did
you know?
* Smart-1 spacecraft was the second spacecraft to use ion
propulsion as the main propulsion system. NASA's Deep Space 1
probe was the first mission to use ion propulsion as its primary
propulsion system. Deep Space 1 was launched in October 1998
* Future ESA missions will use
ion propulsion technolgy. Missions include: BepiColumbo probe to Mercury
(in 2011) and the Solar
Orbiter, which will swoop even closer to the Sun for close-up
views.
* By using ion
propulsion system, Smart-1 spacecraft was cheaper mission compared to
using conventional chemical rocket propulsion. Smart-1 took many
spiralling orbits (slow-and-steady) around the Earth to build up enough speed to
reach the Moon. Its epic 80-million-kilometre journey has took
13 months, compared with the four days taken to cover 400,000
kilometres by Apollo 11 during the first Moon landing mission.
Related Books
Europe's Space
Programme: To Ariane and Beyond
by Brian Harvey
from
Amazon.com,
Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.ca
Lunar
Exploration: Human Pioneers and Robotic Surveyors by
Paolo Ulivi, David M Harland
From
Amazon.com
The Moon Seems to Change (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Franklyn M.
Branley (For Ages 4-8)
From
Amazon.com
Smart-1 Links:
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