Smart 1 has amazing technology!
This is from the ABC.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...9/s1731775.htm
'Vanguard'
SMART-1 operations manager Octavio Camino-Ramos says the probe is the vanguard of future space missions. An engine type that has only been used once before, the ion thruster, has been driving the probe since it was placed into orbit.
Ion engines are fuelled by xenon gas. The gas atoms are charged by electric guns powered by solar panels and are then expelled from the rear of the spacecraft, delivering a tiny thrust, visible as a ghostly blue glow. Compared with the blast, roar and smoke of chemical rockets, ion engines seem puny. But chemical engines burn out after a couple of minutes, whereas an ion engine can push on gently for months or even years.
Complex mission
Unlike the Deep Space mission's essentially straight-line trajectories, SMART-1 has had to carry out a complex series of manoeuvres. It had to loop repeatedly around the Earth to gain extra speed, yet also juggle with the moon's gravitational tug, all the time
using a tiny engine that delivered the same power as someone picking up an A4-sized sheet of paper. Mr Camino-Ramos says the experience was "an adventure", comparing it to navigating a small sailboat buffeted by swirling winds and currents. He says the tiny thruster performed splendidly, even though it needed 14 months for a trip that took Apollo only three days.
