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Probe crashes into moon surface
03/09/2006 08:25 - (SA)
Darmstadt, Germany - Europe's first spacecraft to the moon ended its three-year mission on Sunday by crashing into the lunar surface in a volcanic plane called the Lake of Excellence, to a round of applause in the mission control room.
Hitting at 2 kilometres per second, or 7 200 kilometres per hour, the impact of the Smart-1 spacecraft was expected to leave a 3-metre-by-10-metre crater and send dust kilometres above the surface. Observatories watched the event from Earth and scientists hoped the cloud of dust and debris would provide clues to the geologic composition of the site.
"That's it - we are in the Lake of Excellence," said spacecraft operations chief Octavio Camino as applause broke out in mission control in Darmstadt, Germany. "We have landed."
Minutes later, officials showed off a picture captured by an observatory in Hawaii displaying a bright flash from the impact.
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