Europe unveils new moon-orbiting craft
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.
The satellite will also gather evidence to test the theory that the moon was created when a giant asteroid struck the Earth during the early days of the solar system.
Weighing just 815 pounds and costing $108 million, the craft is part of a European strategy to build spaceships smaller and more cheaply than the U.S. space agency, NASA.
Smart-1's solar-powered engines provide only a minuscule thrust, but can be run over a much longer period than the traditional chemical rocket thrusters used by earlier spacecraft.
Scientists at the European agency believe the engines will be an indispensable part of making longer space voyages to Mercury and Mars.
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.
Once there, the satellite will use infrared light to search for water. The mission will also use X-rays to map the chemical composition of the entire lunar surface.
Project scientist Bernard Foing said if heavy elements such as iron are found to be relatively rare compared to lighter elements such as magnesium, it would strongly support the theory that the moon was formed from debris caused by a massive collision between the Earth and an asteroid or other heavenly body around 4.5 billion years ago.
"It's believed that the moon will be 80 percent composed of Earth material," Foing said.
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