[ad_1]
While news that NASA would have found a missing probe did not seem very interesting at first, this particular probe disappeared after landing on the moon 12 years ago.
The SMART-1 small forward search mission crashed in 2006 after the probe circled the moon for three years, recording images.
The impact of the probe on the moon in 2006 triggered a flash of light that was even detected by amateur astronomers, but as no other spaceship was in space at that time there to observe the impact, the exact site of the accident was unknown for a long time.
Nevertheless, NASA found the probe. Based on flash data and simulations of the flight curve, the researchers were able to calculate the most likely landing site for the probe – and last year, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The photo was published in early September on the website of the European Space Agency.
ESA now plans new lunar missions
The discovery of the probe was more nostalgic for both ESA and NASA than for practical use.
SMART-1 was the first probe sent by ESA to the moon and one of the first to have used a solar electric propulsion system, but this system was not as effective in 2003 – the probe put 13 months to reach the moon. the Apollo missions took the same route between eight and twelve days.
Read more: India will operate a nuclear fuel with no trillion dollars worth of waste on the moon
Today, solar propulsion systems such as the SEP are more widely used in space travel, mainly because they are much more profitable than conventional fuels.
They will be particularly important for ESA's upcoming lunar missions, as the agency plans to build a "moon village" where astronauts will be able to live permanently in the not-too-distant future, as successor to the ISS.
Source link
