SMART-1 swan song: valuable data until final moments (Forwarded)

ESA News
http://www.esa.int

4 September 2006

SMART-1 swan song: valuable data until final moments

Right up to its final orbits, SMART-1 continued delivering valuable data,
extending the mission's legacy as a technology and scientific success.
Scientists and engineers met today at ESOC to review mission achievements
including final AMIE camera images.

At a press event held today at ESA's Spacecraft Operations Centre (ESOC),
SMART-1 engineers, operations experts and scientists are presenting data
and preliminary results obtained by the spacecraft prior to its impact on
the Moon at 07:42 CEST [05:42 UT], 3 September 2006.

Perhaps the most sentimental image sequence was taken by AMIE just four
days before impact, on 29 August at 21:00 CEST (19:00 UT), when the camera
was pointed back towards the Earth to capture, in the best tradition of
many previous lunar missions, a view of our home planet. The sequence of
images is centred over Brazil at approximately 44.9 deg West and 19.2 deg
South (North is to the left). The Kourou area in French Guiana, from where
SMART-1 was launched in 2003, is also visible.

Remarkably, this movie sequence shows the Moon passing in front of the
Earth, beautifully underlining the close gravitational relationship
between the Earth and its natural satellite.

Final orbits offered new imaging opportunities

During SMART-1's final orbits on 1 and 2 September, the spacecraft was
passing at extremely low altitude over the Moon's surface, which was in
darkness, prompting scientists to take advantage of this unique
observational situation by pointing the AMIE camera laterally toward the
Moon's limb (horizon). The camera gathered images of the thin dust
envelope surrounding the Moon, which will be analysed by scientists in the
future.

As a result, the best final images from AMIE were taken on 2 September;
seven of these were posted on the ESA Portal on 3 September and, together
with additional images from the set, these have been combined into a pair
of movie sequences.

The images were taken between 15:19-17:34 CEST (17:19-19:34 UT). The
sequences show the surface of the Moon passing under SMART-1 during the
final orbits and show what a passenger on board the spacecraft would have
seen shortly before impact and destruction.

AMIE mosaic of geologically important southern region

Other SMART-1 results presented today include a mosaic of AMIE nadir
(vertical pointing) images showing a 400-km-long area inside the Moon
South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA), the largest and oldest known impact crater
basin in the solar system and the deepest depression in the Moon.

The basin is 2600 km in diameter and extends from the South Pole to the
Aitken Crater, located at 173.4 deg East and 16.8 deg South.

AMIE was able to image the area under ideal illumination conditions, which
will afford scientists an opportunity to compare AMIE images with existing
data of the same area gathered by previous lunar missions.

"These images can help us understand the surface morphology, formation and
evolution of the South Pole-Aitken Basin. This type of nadir observation
provides the geological context of the area, and will help further extend
our knowledge of the Moon's geology," said Jean-Luc Josset, AMIE Principal
Investigator, SPACE-X (Space Exploration Institute), Neuchatel,
Switzerland.

In fact, scientists intend to compare the AMIE visible images of the South
Pole-Aitken Basin morphology to those previously captured by the camera
using the 'push-broom', three-colour filter mode. The push-broom images
give information on the Moon's surface composition and mineralogy, and a
comparison between the two sets is expected to increase understanding of
the Moon's overall surface composition.

Illumination conditions at North Pole

Another AMIE mosaic presented today shows the Moon's North polar area and
was taken during first phase of the SMART-1 mission in 2005.

This mosaic is valuable as it shows illumination conditions at the region.
It is important to understand global illumination conditions, as this will
help in planning the location of future landing sites and, later, possible
bases on the Moon.

Successful AMIE performance

The image sets shown today illustrate the successful technology and
tremendous results of the AMIE (Advanced Moon micro-Imager Experiment)
camera throughout SMART-1's 36-month mission.

Originally designed to capture just four images per orbit, AMIE exceeded
all expectations and actually averaged 100 images per rotation, generating
a final library of some 20 000 images.

Following the early decision to redesign the science orbit and lower the
apolune (point of highest approach) from 10 000 to 3000 km over the lunar
North pole, AMIE was able to adjust to the large number of imaging
commands and complex operations that were introduced.

"This decision allowed AMIE not only to take sharp images of the South
Pole as planned, but also to study the northern hemisphere from a much
shorter range than initially foreseen," said Josset. "We now have an image
library that will keep scientists and researchers busy for the next months
and years," he added.

Additional lunar composition findings

Scientists used today's press event to highlight findings from
spectroscopic studies conducted by SMART-1's D-CIXS (Demonstration of a
Compact Imaging X-ray Spectrometer) instrument, and show new surface
composition data of selected regions.

The volume of data generated during the mission is expected to keep
scientists busy for some time. Among the remarkable results already
determined was the first-ever remote detection of all the main elements
which make up lunar minerals. This includes, for the first time, calcium.

"SMART-1 data have opened a new era in remote sensing investigation of
Earth's nearest neighbour. A great deal is still to be learned from
analysis of these data, while we already look forward to flying
instruments similar to D-CIXS on the upcoming Chandrayan lunar probe
(India)," said Manuel Grande, D-CIXS Principal Investigator, University of
Wales, Aberystwyth, UK.

Ground observations at impact

Furthermore, scientists worldwide are analysing data gathered from the
ground observation campaign including the impact flash to eventually
obtain fresh information on impact physics, lunar surface science and
spacecraft behaviour during impact, all expected to be useful for future
lunar missions.

SMART-1 legacy

"By proving solar-propulsion and employing other technology including
innovative ground control systems while gathering fantastic new data,
SMART-1 has left a legacy of technology and scientific excellence," said
Bernard Foing, ESA's SMART-1 Mission Scientist.

He added: "It will survive by continuing to contribute to our collective
knowledge of Earth's nearest neighbour for many years, and it is only
fitting that SMART-1 has found its final resting place on the Moon."

The presentations and an audio recording from today's press event can be
downloaded as PDF files from the links below.

For more information:

Bernard Foing, ESA SMART-1 Project Scientist
Email: bernard.foing @ esa.int

Jean-Luc Josset, AMIE Principal Investigator
Space-X (Space Exploration Institute), Neuchatel, Switzerland
Email: jean-luc.josset @ space-x.ch

Manuel Grande, D-CIXS Principal Investigator
University of Wales, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
Email: mng @ aber.ac.uk

[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMC378ZMRE_index_1.html ]

More about ...

* Looking at the Moon
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/SMART-1/index.html

Related news

* ESA's Moon mission ends successfully
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMBY5BVLRE_index_0.html
* Impact landing ends SMART-1 mission to the Moon
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM7A76LARE_index_0.html
* SMART-1 star tracker views the Moon in earthshine
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/SMART-1/SEMMK6BVLRE_0.html
* Intense final hours for SMART-1
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMV386LARE_index_0.html
* Amateur observers prepare to watch SMART-1 impact
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMME86LARE_index_0.html
* SMART-1 maps its own impact site
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/SMART-1/SEM1946LARE_0.html
* Ion engine gets SMART-1 to the Moon
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/SMART-1/SEMLZ36LARE_0.html

SMART-1 impact FAQ

* SMART-1 Impact Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/SMART-1/SEMWSW5LARE_0.html

Related links

* Space-X
http://www.space-x.ch/
* Advanced Moon micro-Imager Experiment (AMIE)
http://www.space-x.ch/Amie.htm
* Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (JIVE)
http://www.jive.nl/
* Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT)
http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/

Download presentations

* Operations

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multime...Operations.pdf
* Technology

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multime...Technology.pdf
* Science Objectives Summary

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multime...es_Summary.pdf
* AMIE Camera Results

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multime...ra-Results.pdf
* D-CIXS Spectrometer Results

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multime...er-Results.pdf
* Ground Observations

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/multime...servations.pdf

Download audio

* Press event audio (MP3, 43.6 MB)

http://a1862.g.akamai.net/7/1862/144...press_conf.mp3