From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Sun Apr 06 2003 - 13:49:00 PDT
----- Original Message -----
From: lkellogg
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2003 11:09 AM
To: lunar-update_at_altair.com
Subject: [lunar-update] SMART-1 gets some press
Good day,
It has been pointed out that SMART-1 spacecraft has been in the news.
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Here is a story I found on CNN.COM about a Lunar Orbiter made in the
Netherlands looking for Ice on the Moon.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/04/04/europe.orbiter.ap/index.html
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T i m
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Will add some other links below. - LRK -
SMART-1 has been in the making for some time. Not the fastest way to get to
the Moon. The CNN report says 3-4 months to make the transfer. Earlier
information on the web says 15-17 months. Will be interesting to see just
how long it takes the ION propulsion to get them there. - LRK -
Larry
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«Start of snippet»
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/04/04/europe.orbiter.ap/index.html
Europe unveils new moon-orbiting craft
Friday, April 4, 2003 Posted: 11:18 AM EST (1618 GMT)
NOORDWIJK, Netherlands (AP) -- A satellite that relies on solar power to put
it into orbit around the moon was unveiled Thursday by the European Space
Agency, which plans to use the spacecraft in Europe's first attempt at a
lunar exploration.
The craft, known as the Smart-1, will be launched in July for a two-year
mission orbiting the moon to look for water, believed to be hidden deep in
craters on the lunar surface.
snip
It will take Smart-1 three months after its launch from Kourou, French
Guiana, to maneuver into orbit with the moon, and several more weeks to move
into a tight lunar orbit.
snip
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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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«End of snippet» I guess you will need to read the story at CNN - :-) -
LRK -
There is more information on the ESA website. - LRK -
«Start of snippet» http://sci.esa.int/home/smart-1/index.cfm
«End of snippet»
«Start of snippet»
http://sci.esa.int/content/news/index.cfm?aid=10&cid=33&oid=31976
http://sci.esa.int/content/news/print.cfm?aid=10&cid=33&oid=31976
sci.esa.int
ESA Science News
ESA PR 17-2003 ESA presents SMART-1: Europe to the Moon, the Moon for Europe
19 Mar 2003
The European Space Agency will present its SMART-1 lunar mission to the
press on 3 April 2003. The event will take place at the European Space
Technology Research Centre (ESTEC), Noordwijk, The Netherlands and will
place the mission in its correct scientific, technological and European
framework.
SMART-1 is a prototype for space missions of the future. It is a small,
low-cost mission that emphasises miniaturisation. It carries ten experiments
that will test a host of technological innovations in the context of the
first European scientific mission to the Moon.
SMART-1 is the first in a series of 'Small Missions for Advanced Research in
Technology'. The programme is dedicated to finding new solutions that can
bring down the cost of space missions and allow more space science to be
done for the money. SMART-1 is a precursor of a new philosophy, based on
developing lightweight technologies for spacecraft. Accordingly the benefits
are not only for space science but the mission technology is also aimed to
help maintain the European space industry at the forefront of commercial
competitiveness and technological know-how.
The centrepiece of the SMART-1 mission is the testing of solar electric
propulsion (SEP), commonly referred to as an ion engine. This is a key
technology that will make possible future missions such as BepiColombo to
Mercury and the Solar Orbiter. However the use will not just be limited to
science; the telecommunications industry is very interested also.
The technology preparation for SMART-1 will be presented at the event. At
the same time, SMART-1 is far more than just a technology demonstrator.
Although astronauts walked on the Moon long ago, there are many science
problems that can only be tackled by global surveying of the kind SMART-1
will do. Its new science instruments will address some of the most
perplexing lunar mysteries, including the formation of the Moon, the search
for water ice, and the analysis of the lunar crust's mineral composition.
The SMART-1 day at ESTEC will take the form of a series of presentations by
relevant project leaders, and offer the chance to actually view the
spacecraft in the test facilities.
For more information, please contact:
ESA - Communication Department
Media Relations Office
Paris, France
Tel: +33 (0)1 5369 7155
Fax: +33 (0)1 5369 7690
«End of snippet»
This link has a lot of pictorial information. - LRK -
«Start of snippet» http://www.ssc.se/ssd/smart1.html
Mission
SMART-1 is the first of ESA's Small Missions for Advanced Research and
Technology (SMART). SMART-1 will be the first European spacecraft to travel
to and orbit the Moon. SSC's Space Systems Division has been selected as the
Prime Contractor for the spacecraft development.
The main mission objective of SMART-1 is to demonstrate innovative and key
technologies for scientific deep-space missions. One of the objectives is
the flight demonstration of Electric Primary Propulsion for a scientific
lunar orbiting spacecraft delivered into a standard geostationary transfer
orbit. SMART-1, however contains other technology elements both in the
spacecraft bus and in the instruments carried onboard. The spacecraft will
also carry a scientifically relevant payload. The spacecraft is designed
with regard to the power needed for the electric propulsion, the severe
radiation environment that is a consequence of the slow earth escape
trajectory and the need for on-board autonomy.
SMART-1 will reach lunar orbit from geostationary transfer orbit by the use
of electric propulsion. The transfer time will be in the order of 15-17
months. The overall mission can be divided into four phases:
Launch and early orbit phase
Earth escape phase
Moon capture phase
Lunar observation phase
«End of snippet»
«Start of snippet» http://www.ssc.se/ssd/ssat/Smart1/smart1photos.html
Smart-1 photo album
The pictures in this photo album were taken by members of SSC's Smart-1
project team.
«End of snippet»
This is the SOLAR SYSTEM page a lot of links here but even more to other
missions - http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/index.cfm and if you back up
one more, a lot more information with links from the home page. -
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/index.cfm - Got side tracked there. - LRK -
«Start of snippet»
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/moon_missns/moon-smart1.html
snip
Objectives
To flight test the new Solar Electric Propulsion technology and to
thoroughly investigate and map the Moon. SMART-1 will also search for ice on
the lunar poles.
snip
«End of snippet»
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
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