Crash into the moon

Started by TehBorken, Aug 31 06 08:06

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TehBorken

Amateur astronomers will be excited to note that they can witness the impact of the SMART-1 probe [a  href="vny!://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/30aug_smart1.htm?"]crashing into the moon[/a]. The impact is scheduled for the morning of September 2nd (PDT).

From the article:

There's nothing wrong with the spacecraft, which is wrapping up a successful 3-year mission to the Moon. SMART-1's main job was to test a European-built ion engine. It worked beautifully, propelling the craft in 2003 on a unique spiral path from Earth to the Moon.

From lunar orbit, SMART-1 took thousands of high-resolution pictures and made mineral maps of the Moon's terrain. One of its most important discoveries was a "Peak of Eternal Light," a mountaintop near the Moon's north pole in constant, year-round sunlight. Peaks of Eternal Light are prime real estate for solar-powered Moon bases.  
The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.