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European mission to the Moon goes in search of clues explaining origin of Earth's little sister

Posted on: Tuesday, 19 August 2003, 06:00 CDT

EUROPE IS to launch its first mission to the Moon in an ambitious attempt to unlock the secrets of Earth's "little sister".

Scientists hope to answer one of the biggest mysteries of the Moon - how it formed some 4.5 billion years ago and whether its birth was the result of a massive collision between Earth and an asteroid.

An experiment on board the European Space Agency's Smart-1 probe will analyse the mineral content of the lunar surface to discover whether the Moon is a huge slice of the Earth's outer mantle that was knocked off in the collision.

The unmanned mission - due to be launched from Kourou in French Guiana on 3 September - is a test for a range of advanced technology, including a new propulsion engine that could revolutionise the exploration of deep space. Scientists are also hoping that the knowledge gleaned from Smart- 1 and subsequent missions will culminate in a manned base for lunar research, advanced astronomy and mineral mining.

"The Moon is a test-bed for the exploration of other planets in the solar system," said Sarah Dunkin, a space scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, which will be analysing the data gathered by Smart-1's many instruments.

For the first time, the Moon's entire surface will be mapped by a British-built device that will analyse X-rays emitted from the lunar surface.

The data will enable scientists to determine the mineral composition of the Moon and discover if it matches the make-up of the Earth's mantle. One of the most intriguing ideas is that the Moon may contain large bodies of ice deposited by passing comets. These ice stores could have remained frozen because they lie in deep, shadowed craters at the lunar poles.

If Smart-1 can confirm that the Moon has pockets of frozen water, the possibility is raised of being able to "mine" for its hydrogen and oxygen - a viable energy source for a future lunar base.

Smart-1 - which stands for Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology - is about the size of a small washing machine, but it is packed with seven instruments for running 10 scientific investigations of the Moon.

Costing about EUR100m (pounds 71m), the probe will be propelled by two solar panels that generate electricity to create a magnetic field that causes electrically charged xenon gas - ions - to be ejected from the craft.

Although this propulsive force is far less than a rocket engine, the ion thruster is able to exert its effect continually for months on end, causing a gradual increase in acceleration, which eventually exceeds that produced by the most powerful rockets.

When it reaches the Moon in 2005, Smart-1 will be sent into orbits that will bring it close to the lunar surface. At the end of the mission scientists will consider a controlled crash.

LUNAR LANDMARKS

The Soviet Union claimed the first successful mission to the Moon in 1959 when its Luna 2 craft crash-landed at the Palus Putredinus region on 12 September.

Previously there had been many failed attempts by the USSR and US, with several not going beyond launch. The Soviet Luna 1 managed a lunar fly- by in January 1959 and the Americans claimed a similar success with Pioneer 4 in March. In October, the Soviet Union scored another first when Luna 3 took pictures for the first time of the far side of the Moon. The US Apollo missions culiminated in the first men - astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin - landing on the Moon on 20 July 1969. Between 1970 and 1976, three Soviet automated Luna craft returned rock samples.

Apart from Europe, Japan, China and India now plan to explore the Moon.

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