|
|
SMART-1 leaves Earth on a long journey to the Moon   The European Space Agency’s SMART-1 was one of three payloads on Ariane Flight 162. The generic Ariane-5 lifted off from the Guiana Space Centre, Europe’s spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, at 2014 hrs local time (2314 hrs GMT) on 27 September (01:14 Central European Summer time on 28 September). By ion drive to the Moon  How an ion engine works. Electrons attracted into the discharge chamber collide with xenon atoms from the propellant gas supply, making charged atoms (ions). Current-carrying coils, inside and outside the doughnut-shaped discharge chamber, sustain a magnetic field oriented like the spokes of a wheel. By the Hall effect, ions and electrons swerving in opposite directions in the magnetic field create an electric field. This expels the xenon ions in a propulsive jet. Other emitted electrons then neutralise the xenon, producing the blue jet.
SMART-1 is the first of ESA’s Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology. It will head for the Moon using solar-electric propulsion and carrying a battery of miniaturised instruments.  Ariane 5G Flight 162 shortly before launch on the night of 27 September 2003, with SMART-1 and two fellow passengers on board Digging for the Moon’s remaining secrets  How three remote-sensing instruments on SMART-1 will scan the Moon's surface during one pass. Repeated passes will gradually fill in the picture. Release date: 12 May 2004 |